Tournament of the Sacred Ten
by ThePrincessOfHyrule
Summary: It's competition time! A tournament hosted by Queen Serenity, featuring the ten Sailor Soldiers, competing in the name of the Moon Kingdom. Who will win? And what will happen when the winner claims their new senshipen? Chapter 12 is up.
1. The Ten Combatants

Trumpets blew deafeningly through the air, clouds of multicoloured confetti swirled about them, as numerous as the stars that hung in the sky. The cheer of thousands of expectant fans assaulted the ears of the eleven people assembled in the center of the marble white coliseum, and the excitement that hung like an overpowering aroma in the air was hard to avoid.

The stadium was a perfect circle, almost a thousand feet wide, and hundreds of marble bleachers lined the sides, swimming with the vibrant colours of those who inhabited the Moon Kingdom, not a square inch of space between them. As the confetti settled around them, the oldest woman in the center of the arena, a woman clothed in a flowing, snowy white dress with long lavender hair and sparkling lilac eyes stepped forwards, spreading her pale arms wide, a silent call for silence, which fell immediately.

"Welcome!" called Queen Serenity, her voice magically magnified so that everyone in the stadium could hear her. "Welcome to the Tournament of the Sacred Ten!"

Cheers rent the ringing silence that had fallen upon them, thunderous, bordering on deafening. The smallest of the group of warriors assembled in the center of the stadium, Sailor Mini Moon, elbowed the girl standing beside her in the stomach, causing her to gasp in pain.

"Just think," whispered Mini Moon, tugging hard on the long blonde pigtails of Sailor Moon to yank her head down to her level. "All of these people will be cheering for _me!"_

"Don't be ridiculous, Rini," hissed Serena, pulling her hair out of her daughter's gloved hand. "You aren't going to win! You shouldn't even be allowed to compete!"

Childishly, Mini Moon stuck her tongue out at her, though to be fair, she _was _a child. Serena however, was sixteen, and clearly not above returning such an action. The brawl that would have followed was interrupted, however, by Queen Serenity raising her palms above her head, signalling for silence once more.

"In celebration of the Moon Kingdom's four thousandth birthday, I have arranged for this tournament, consisting of the ten guardians of the Solar System, to be held, celebrating the union of all planets!" Serenity announced, and though there was applause, it was more polite now than before. The queen turned, her mysterious smile still playing about her lips, and gestured towards the ten warriors assembled behind her. "I give you...Sailor Moon!"

Serena turned away from her daughter to stare slightly bewilderedly at the fans that surrounded her from every side, fans that were screaming and cheering and stamping her feet at her introduction. A slight blush crept into her cheeks at the applause, embarrassed at her own fame.

"Sailor Mini Moon!" called Serenity, and the applause increased in volume, prompting Rini to skip forwards in a graceful bow, while she looked under her arm to wink mockingly at Serena.

"Sailor Mercury!" announced the queen, and Mercury stepped forwards, always modest, waving politely at the crowd before them.

"Sailor Mars!"

The applause exceeded that of even Mini Moon, and the Soldier of Fire stepped forwards, a wide smile upon her face as she waved enthusiastically at her fans.

"Sailor Jupiter!" cried Serenity, and Jupiter stepped forwards, beaming hugely as she bowed theatrically.

"Sailor Venus!"

Hundreds of wolf-whistles mingled with the applause that thundered for Venus, who danced forwards and blew a mischievous kiss towards the crowd.

"Sailors Uranus and Neptune!" declared Serenity, and the whistles promptly died out, in its place deafening applause that shook the sandy floor beneath them very slightly. Unlike the other Sailor Soldiers, Uranus did not step forwards and wave, preferring to stand stoically beside Venus, her custom frown upon her face as she stared at the cloud through slightly narrowed eyes, while Neptune took a step forwards and waved happily at the crowd.

"Sailor Pluto!" Serenity had to shout over the noise, and though the applause was deafening, Pluto, like Uranus, did not step forwards and wave at the crowd. Her dark red eyes, haunted by an ancient sorrow, were fixed upon Serenity, silently conveying her disdain for the proceedings towards the Queen. Serenity, refusing to be cowed, shook her head slightly and cried, "Sailor Saturn!"

The applause was slightly less thunderous for Saturn, the second youngest of the group, who smiled sadly and merely nodded her head in acknowledgement to the fan's approval; not one of the members of the audience was oblivious to the deadly power the Messiah of Silence wielded, and the majority of them were rather afraid of her, hence the departure from rowdiness.

Queen Serenity turned back to the crowd, raising her hands for silence once more, which fell as quickly as it took for an argument between Sailors Moon and Mars to spring up. "Though I'm sure some of you are sceptical as to the safety of the tournament," called the queen, solomness lacing her voice now. "There is nothing to be afraid of; any harm that may come to the contestants will be healed almost instantly, and the combatants have been warned," she cast a half-glance at Serena, who stared back at her mother with deceptive innocence, betraying herself slightly by allowing her eyes to flicker towards Mini Moon. "to be careful with each other.

"The winner of the tournament," continued Serenity, and the attentiveness of the Sailor Soldiers increased by tenfold. "is a new senshipen. This will allow the winner to transform into their ultimate form, a fitting reward for the display of their powers.

"Now, I must ask you all to be patient, for we must determine the match-ups for the first round!" At this, any restrain the audience members had was shattered, and bomb-like explosion of sound rent the silence apart, hooting and roaring and cheers and calls of support all clambering for the attention of the ones in the middle, whose attention was fixed solely upon Queen Serenity.

"Come," she said, her voice returned to its usual volume and barely audible over the din. "We have work to do." And with that, she turned in a graceful swish of her dress and led the line of Sailor Soldiers towards one of the two black gaps in the ground level, her gait proud, graceful...the walk of a queen.

While most of the Soldier beamed and waved at the crowd, three of them disentangled themselves from the line to catch up with Serenity; Uranus, looking moody and determined, Pluto, her normally sorrowful eyes glowing with frustration, and Serena, a desperate, pleading look upon her face.

"This is ridiculous!" objected Uranus, her low voice blazing with exasperation. "There is absolutely _no _point in fighting each other! This is just a complete waste of time!"

"I only leave the Space-Time Door during times of crisis," Pluto murmured, her reclusive voice firm, angry. "And this is not a crisis. Do you have any idea how unprotected the outer regions of the solar system are right now? All the Outer Guardians are here, competing in this ridiculous competition!"

"Mother!" wailed Serena, tripping slightly in her haste to catch up with the queen. "No good can come from fighting each other! Why can't you just give it to one of us? Why don't you give new transformation pens to each of us and call this off?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Serena," scoffed Serenity, leading them through the portal at the edge of the coliseum and beginning the climb up the massive spiral staircase that would lead to the participant's balcony. "These people came here expecting to see a tournament. What am I supposed to tell them? Perhaps that I've caved at my daughter's insistence?"

"You still haven't answered us, Serenity," Uranus pointed out, and it was plain by her voice that she was determined to get an answer.

"You are being paranoid," Serenity murmured, apparently thinking she was reassuring Uranus and Pluto. "I know that each of you has placed extra protection around your planets to ensure the safety of the outer regions. And anyhow, how could external forces have known that you four have left your posts?"

There was a beat of exasperated silence, and then Pluto, her voice dripping with sarcasm, said, "I don't know, could it be that you sent a universal invitation out to everyone in the Solar System telling them about the competition?"

"Enough," snapped Serenity, and Serena shrank back slightly, sensing that Pluto had crossed some sort of invisible line. "You can withdraw your names from the competition if you wish, but please don't insult me, Pluto; I am not oblivious to your discomfort and you have made your disdain for the tournament perfectly clear." The queen halted on the third landing of staircase, turning to face Uranus, Pluto and Serena with an angry expression upon her face. "Uranus, Pluto, if you wish to leave, I will not stop you."

The icy silence that fell around them was absolute, and the surprised gazes of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Neptune , Saturn and Mini Moon bored into the backs of the heads of the offenders like daggers. When neither Uranus nor Pluto nor Serena moved, Serenity closed her eyes and, without another word, turned and strode off towards the ornate marble balcony, leaving an icy silence behind her. There was a brief pause, during which everyone cast embarrassed looks at one another, and then they unfroze, dividing into twos and threes as they set out towards the various chairs and couches spaced around the room.

The participants' level was very technologically advanced, constructed of stainless silver steel, and a floor-to-ceiling window covered every inch of wall that was facing the arena. It was completely soundproof and stocked with enough food to last them a week. Several monitors hung from the ceiling, miniatures of the vast screen that hovered unsupported above the stadium, displaying flashing profiles of each Sailor Soldier.

Serena broke away from the rest of her friends, walking towards her mother, eyes bright with anxiety. "Mother," she whispered, her voice soft, pleading. "I...I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Didn't I tell you that no one will be in any danger?" Serenity asked her, without turning around.

Serena swallowed nervously, afraid that her mother might snap at her like she did at Uranus and Pluto. "Also...about Rini...well, she's just a kid, and I...well, do you really think it's a good idea for her to be in this tournament?"

"You really do sound concerned about her," Serenity said, a slight smile in her voice as she turned to face her daughter, lilac eyes dancing mischievously. "Almost like a real mother. Well then, I suppose what you're trying to say is that you don't want Rini to have to face off with any of your fellow Soldiers?"

"Yes," Serena said, her voice full of relief at how quickly her mother had caught on, forgetting to factor in the mysterious of the mischief sparkling in the queen's eyes.

Serenity's smile widened, displaying even white teeth. "Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind facing off with her in the first round!" she cried, clasping her hands beneath her chin. Sailor Moon's eyes widened in shock and she staggered backwards as though struck, her mouth a perfect 'o' of horror, while the other Soldiers, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, laughed at her, Uranus' and Mars' loudest of all.

Mini Moon elbowed her way to the front of the group of Soldiers, a mocking smile upon her face. "Aww, Serena," she began, her lower lip drooping, mocking a pitying child. "Are you afraid I might beat you?"

"Argh!" cried Serena, a vein in her temple pulsing, and she ran forwards, her arms outstretched, glaring angrily at her daughter. "Why you little -!"

Jupiter and Pluto jumped forwards, restraining her by grabbing onto her arms, while Rini folded her arms across her chest and stuck her tongue out at her.

"Serena, Rini, that's enough," Serenity said sternly, and Sailor Moon immediately froze, prompting Jupiter and Pluto to release her in favour of turning around to face the queen. Though an amused smile was playing about her lips, her tone was firm when she said, "I have determined the match-ups for the first round. Please direct your attention to the monitors."

Everyone turned to look at the various screens spaced strategically around the room, while Serenity turned and walked out onto the marble balcony. "Ladies and gentlemen," she called, her voice magically magnified once more, spreading her arms wide as she addressed the crowd, which fell silent almost immediately. "Please direct your attention to the screen above you."

In a single, rippling motion, every head was raised to stare up at the massive screen hovering above them all. The monitor, which had gone black, turned a crystalline blue, while bright white words appeared upon them, reading, "Round 1".

"The match ups for Round One are as follows," declared Serenity and the tension that had swelled inside the stadium was almost tangible. "Sailor Mercury versus Sailor Saturn-" she paused for a moment, allowing applause to ring deafening throughout the stadium, while Mercury cast Saturn an apprehensive look and the names of the first two Soldiers appeared beneath the words 'Round One'. "Sailor Mars versus Sailor Pluto-" as their names appeared upon the monitor, Mars turned to Pluto and winked, "Sure you can handle the heat, Pluto?"

"You probably shouldn't have asked that," Pluto responded, an expectant smile spreading across her face.

"Sailor Venus versus Sailor Neptune, Sailor Jupiter versus Sailor Uranus and finally, Sailor Moon versus Sailor Mini Moon!" Serenity lifted the pairings off without pausing in between, while the volume of the cheers that thundered throughout bordered on deafening. As the audience roared, Serenity turned to look over her shoulder, her arms still raised, and smiled at the Soldiers who were grinning expectantly at each other.

"Ready for the first match-up?" she asked them, a steely glint in her eyes. Without waiting for a response, she waved her right hand through the air, causing currents of bright white light to run down the forms of two of the Soldiers, and their cries of surprise were cut off as their heads vanished, replaced by clouds of tiny, glowing green spheres of light.

While the others exchanged sarcastic looks and continued exchanging macho banter, Serenity turned back towards the crowd, a wide smile upon her face, and cried, "Please direct your attention to ground level; the first battle is about to begin!"

**Round 1 A**

Sailor Moon could barely contain her outrage; not only had her mother pitted her against her annoyance for a daughter, she had chosen the two of them as the first pair to fight. As she made her way down the metallic blue hallway that marked the passageway between the stadium and the battlefield, she listened to the information her mother was shouting to the roaring crowd.

"Our first fighter, on the east side of the stadium, is Sailor Mini Moon!" declared Serenity, and, judging by the way the roar of the crowd went from loud to deafening, Rini had just entered the stadium.

_Stupid brat, _Serena thought, clenching her fists as she hovered at the entrance to the stadium. _I bet she's just lapping this up right now._

"And on the west side of the stadium we have...Sailor Moon!" cried Serenity, and to her delight, Serena found that her applause exceeded that of Mini Moon's, the thunderous approval of thousands of screaming fans who had come from every planet in the solar system to watch the tournament ringing in her ears, and as she stepped out of the darkness that was the underground passageway and beamed at the crowd, waving enthusiastically at her fans, she forgot to be complaining and disapproving about the tournament.

She made her way towards the center of the battlefield, where Mini Moon was waiting for her. She could see the tapping toe of her daughter's bright pink boot, see the expectant smirk upon her face. Her robotic cat head, Luna-P, hovered at her side, circling around her slowly, its pupilless blue eyes flashing excitedly.

_That thing is really creepy, _Sailor Moon thought as she drew closer to her daughter. Luna-P, she knew, was not just a robot, but the only means of communication that Rini had to the 30th century, and, at times, it had served as a link between her and Sailor Pluto.

_But none of this matters right now, _Serena told herself sternly, stopping her advance when she was five feet away from Mini Moon. _That's not going to help me win._

"Ready, Sailor Moon?" Rini asked mockingly, and Luna-P nodded at her side. "I'm sure it'll only take the others a couple years to forget about how badly I beat you."

Though the last thing Serena felt like doing was taking the adult approach to this conversation, she folded her arms across her chest and stared disdainfully down at her daughter. "Come on Rini; you can't really think that I'm going to try. I mean, you might be an annoying squirt and all, but you _are _my daughter, and I -"

"PINK SUGAR HEART ATTACK!" shouted Rini, producing her Moon Rod from out of nowhere. Her pink Silver Crystal glowed magenta for a moment, and then a stream bright pink hearts shot forwards, a continuous, annoying stream of something infuriatingly like a slaps struck Serena squarely in the face.

"Ooh!" she growled angrily, her eyes clenched shut, crossing her arms in front of her face in an effort to protect herself. "Rini – _stop it – _this is ridiculous – _OUCH!"_

The final slap was slightly harder than the others, and it was powerful enough to cause her to stagger backwards. Slightly disoriented, Sailor Moon felt light, fluttering pressures being applied to her stomach, and she moved her arms away from her face to see Mini Moon punching her furiously in the gut, explaining the light pressure.

"Take that – and _that!" _huffed the girl, sweating slightly with the effort of her attacks.

"Ooooh – why you little - " Serena, too annoyed to form a proper sentence, seized her daughter by the scruff of the neck and hoisted her off of the ground, where the girl writhed and struggled, her legs treading air so fast they appeared blurred.

"Lemme down!" shouted Mini Moon, and Serena increased the distance between them to arm's length when her daughter attempted to slap her. "This isn't fair – you're _bigger _than me!"

"Serves you right!" snarled Serena, dropping Rini contemptuously on the ground and folding her arms across her chest. Suddenly, without knowing how she got there, she was pinned against the ground, having apparently been tackled by Rini, who was punching and kicking every inch of her she could reach, and though each blow individually was not all that damaging, they were numerous enough to cause her body to throb angrily.

With an outraged cry, she rolled over, pinning Rini against the ground with her body weight, using her arms to shield herself from the flurry of lightning-fast punches Mini Moon continued to unleash upon her. "That's enough!" she shouted, catching her daughter's wrist with one hand, and, with uncanny speed, she flipped her daughter over so that she was lying face-down in the sand, with her arm twisted behind her back police-to-fugitive style. Serena used her other hand to press Rini's face into the sand, momentarily fuelled by her rage, growling, "And stay that way!"

"Ow! Serena – you're _hurting _me!" came Rini's muffled shout of objection, and Sailor Moon immediately returned to herself, thinking of how ludicrous it was for a sixteen-year old to be doing this to a child.

"Oops," she said, removing her hand from the back of her daughter's head and loosening her grip on her arm somewhat. "Sorry Rini, I-"

"PINK SUGAR HEART _ATTACK!" _Mini Moon shouted again, twisting around and pointing her Moon Rod at her face. The proximity of the rod and the force of the attack was enough to blast Sailor Moon off Rini, her form being pummelled by a seemingly endless stream of hearts. She could feel angry bruises pounding upon her face, and as she landed heavily upon the ground some twenty feet away from her daughter in a crumpled heap, she momentarily forgot who she was fighting against, fuelled by her outraged desire for a counter attack-

"MOON SPIRAL HEART _ATTACK!" _she shouted, producing her own Moon Rod from out of nowhere. She twirled and danced, so graceful that it would have broken a ballerina's heart, and suddenly, her Silver Crystal flashed white, and a blinding mass of twisting, spiralling magenta hearts rocketed towards Mini Moon, capable of vanquishing a demon sent by the Death Busters and certainly capable of incapacitating an eight-year old.

Mini Moon gave a tortured scream as she was blasted off her feet, her form cackling with violent pink energy, writhing and twisting itself into grotesque displays of pain, and as Sailor Moon returned to sanity, horror rising up inside of her at what she had done, she imagined that the crowd had gone silently, holding its breath, horrified that she had just brutally attacked her daughter.

"MINI MOON!" she screamed, tossing her Moon Rod into the air and causing it to be swallowed in a crack of silver light, tripping and stumbling as she sprinted towards her daughter, her heart pounding deafeningly in her ears, eyes fixed upon Rini's unmoving form, surrendering herself to horror.

_How could I have just attack her? _She asked herself over and over again, self-disgust threatening to plunge her into unconsciousness. _I don't care how annoying she is, she's my daughter, the heir to the throne...this is exactly why I didn't want to be in this competition, Sailor Soldiers aren't meant to attack one another-_

"Rini?" she whispered, a weak, croaking sound as she knelt at her daughter's side, trembling gloved hands reaching out to roll her daughter onto her back. "Are you okay? Oh, I'm so sorry!"

At her words, Rini's eyes fluttered open, her breath coming in short, laboured gasps. "S-Serena," she choked out, and Sailor Moon was horrified at how faint her voice was. "C-come...closer..."

"What is it, Rini?" Serena whispered, placing her head beside Rini's, her ear inches from her daughter's lips.

She could feel her daughter's ragged breath on her face, feel the way her lips trembled with the effort of forming words. "Crystal Twinkle _Bell!" _shouted Mini Moon, and Serena felt something as powerful as a tidal wave slam into her stomach, a hundred years' worth of pain ripping its way through her as she was blasted thirty feet backwards in a blaze of silvery-white light, the roar of both the attack and the crowd deafening her-

She landed in a limp heap upon the unforgiving sandy ground, her whole body screaming in protest to the pain it had just been put through. Her breath came in short, agonized bursts, her vision was naught but swirling colours that had run together, but somehow, she saw that Rini was standing over her, a triumphant smile upon her face.

"See ya around, Serena!" she declared, one hand on her hip, while she wiggled her fingers at her in farewell with her free hand.

"You little -"

But before Serena could finish her sentence, Mini Moon and the stadium had gone, replaced by the cool, sheltered passageway that was the participant's level of the coliseum. The surface beneath her was soft and fabricated, telling her that she was lying on one of the couches. The faces of Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn hovered above her, blocking her surroundings from view.

"BRAT!" shouted Serena, sitting up so fast that she accidentally bashed her head against Mercury's, adding to her list of injuries. "When I get my hands on Rini -"

"Hey, way to go, Serena," Venus applauded her mockingly, bowing theatrically. "You got fooled by a little kid!"

"You try facing off with your daughter in some stupid competition, then tell me how it feels!!" Sailor Moon retorted, shaking her head in anger.

Jupiter shrugged her shoulders. "Wouldn't know. I don't have a daughter."

"Still, it doesn't change the facts; you got beat by a squirt," Uranus pointed out, a slight smile twisting her lips. Everyone laughed, and Serena's rage increased by tenfold as she caught wind of what Serenity was announcing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, Sailor Mini Moon, winner of the first round!" declared the queen to thunderous applause, and the massive monitor hovering above the stadium zoomed in on Mini Moon, who was in the act of blowing a kiss to the audience, while the word 'Winner!' flashed above her head over and over again, each one like a taunting slap in the face to Sailor Moon.

"ARGH!" she cried, leaping to her feet and limping out towards the balcony, where Serenity was turning to come back inside. "You can't be serious! She tricked me!"

Serenity did not respond, choosing instead to point her Moon Wand at her face, the Imperium Silver Crystal glittering at its top. In a flash of white light, Sailor Moon felt all her pain leave her, something she would have grumbled thanks for had she just been defeated by any other opponent, but the moment her vision cleared she launched into speech once more.

"She faked being hurt! That can't be allowed!" Serena objected, storming after her mother, infuriated by the slight smile upon the queen's face. "She's my _daughter, _what did you expect me to do? I couldn't just leave her there!"

"And that is why you're standing here right now," Serenity noted, turning to face Serena, her lilac eyes sparkling humorously. "Rini played you like a harp, Serena."

"Whose side are you on?" Sailor Moon demanded, actually stamping her foot in anger. "I demand a -"

"Really, Serena," Serenity chided sternly, silencing her daughter in mid-protest. "Rini beat you, it's your own fault you're standing here right now. Yes, it may not have been the cleanest defeat ever, but there will be no rematch." As she studied Serena's manic expression, a slightly pitying look crept into her eyes. "It may seem ridiculous to be the first one out, but half of your friends are about to meet the same fate as you, Serena. Chin up; Rini may very well meet her match in the next round."

Sailor Moon, momentarily out of protests, merely stared at her mother, her mouth slightly open, and Serenity capitalized on her silence by turning to face the assembled Soldiers, who had been discussing Serena and Rini's fight in undertones.

"Is everyone ready? Good," murmured Serenity, scanning the excited faces of the excited Soldiers. "The second battle is about to begin."

"Bring it on," said Jupiter, punching her fist into her hand and cracking her knuckles.

"This had better be better than Serena's fight," muttered Mars, winking roguishly at Sailor Moon, who bit back a growl.

"Let's get this over with," sighed Venus, stretching her arms and yawning fakely, as though she had better things to do."

Serenity smiled slightly, and then waved her hand through the air, causing two of the Soldiers to vanish, leaving nothing but little spheres of glowing green light in their wake.


	2. Round 1, Part 1

**Round 1 B**

Sailor Mercury blinked against the smothering blackness that pressed in on her from every side, slightly overwhelmed at her abrupt change of surroundings. _Oh no, _she thought, as deafening applause sounded from behind her, and she spun around to see a rectangle of bright white light marking the end of the passageway some twenty feet away from her, the manic roar of thousands of adrenaline-pumped fans sounding in her ears. For a split second, she considered not walking forwards, but dismissed the idea almost immediately, repulsed by her own cowardice.

_This whole tournament is about honouring bravery and staring fear straight in the eyes, _she told herself sternly, doing what she normally did during stressful situations – analyzing things. _If you forfeit, it will be the single most humiliating experience of your life. Well, next to when you lost that math test to Pluto. That was pretty bad._

And so, with an aching heart, Mercury set forwards, feeling as though she was wading through a sea of solidifying concrete than walking towards a battle arena full of screaming fans. She was not afraid of the thought of failure; she knew that half of her friends were about to suffer defeat as well, a defeat that might be waiting for her in the center of the arena with open arms. She was afraid of her opponent, Sailor Saturn, the most powerful Soldier in the entire galaxy, who wielded the ability to destroy a planet with a mere swipe of her Silence Glaive.

_But she's not going to use that on you, _Mercury told herself, a bead of sweat trickling down her forehead, having nothing to do with the temperature. _She's not going to sacrifice her life just to beat you. _And then, _Even if she does, Serenity said that the damage that will come to us will be limited._

In an attempt to cheer herself up, she thought, _Think about how Jupiter must be feeling right now; she has to face off with Uranus. If Saturn isn't allowed to use her Silence Glaive, Uranus definitely qualifies as the toughest opponent._

Mercury's brain went numb as she reached the edge of the dark passageway, the tips of her dark blue boots penetrating the line that marked the border between the crowd and her. The noise was deafening, and she peered timidly through the shadows to see an indistinct wave of colour lining the stands, senseless din berating her from every side, the applause of those who had come from every corner of the Milky Way to watch her compete. Resolve suddenly flared inside Mercury's chest, banishing her uneasiness for the first time since her opponent had been revealed, and her confidence was bolstered by tenfold when Queen Serenity's magically magnified voice boomed, "Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, Sailor Mercury!"

The noise reached deafening, and a wide smile spread across her face as she stepped out of the shadows and strode out under the artificial light of the stadium, waving jovially at the crowd, while a camera zoomed in on her face and displayed her confident features upon the massive screen floating hundreds of feet above her.

In what seemed like no time at all, she had reached the center of the sandy circle, and was staring superiorly about for her opponent, confidence rushing through her, brought forth by the insane roar of thousands of people on every side of her, each one screaming their approval-

"And on the western side of the arena," Serenity announced, having to shout over the roars of the crowd. "Sailor Saturn!"

At this, the crowd lost all restraint completely, driven insane by the prospect of seeing the most powerful Sailor Soldier fighting before their very eyes. Hundreds of feet away, the small figure that was Saturn stepped out of the shadows, Silence Glaive in hand, waving energetically at the crowd. Mercury felt her excitement flicker and die, drowned out by the ocean of superiority that was her fellow Soldier, wondering how she was expected to win this battle.

Sailor Saturn approached slowly, her wicked, curving weapon held almost casually over her shoulder, as one might carry a baseball bat, raven black hair swinging delicately around her face, her thigh-high, navy blue boots causing little clouds of dust to erupt around her with each footstep. Though Mercury was a full foot taller than her adversary, she shrank back slightly as Saturn came to a halt before her, heart pounding loudly in her ears, drowning out the cheers of the crowd. Saturn smiled tentatively at her, and through unmoving lips, murmured, "I'm scared."

Mercury was so stunned that she did not even hear Queen Serenity declare, _"Fight!" _The idea of someone as powerful as Sailor Saturn being afraid of _her _was ludicrous, bordering on impossible. But she had no time to consider the mystery, for Saturn, on Serenity's command, had begun to circle her in a tight half-crouch, her Silence Glaive held diagonally across her back, blade facing away from her. Swallowing her fear, Mercury tensed slightly and began to circle her opponent, hands curled into shaking fists, trying to keep the fear that was clawing up her throat at bay. Realizing that the best way to combat this fear would be to attack, she abruptly broke rank and sprinted forwards, drawing one fist over her shoulder and aiming for Saturn's head, but the Messiah of Silence, too quick for such a weak attack, sashayed gracefully to the side, bringing the handle of her weapon up to knock her outstretched arm out of the way. Pain blossomed just underneath the crook of her elbow, and Mercury dug her boots into the sand to stop herself, deep skid marks forming in the ground as she spun back around to face her opponent.

She was just in time to see Saturn give a cry of what sounded like, "Htcha!" and slam her Silence Glaive over her shoulder, blade still facing away from her. Mercury screamed in alarm and threw herself out of harm's way, turning a somersault before she hit the ground. She heard Saturn's weapon hit the ground with a dull thud and, knowing this was the moment to attack, spun back around and cried, "MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!"

She extended her hands just in time to see a harp constructed solely of oceanic blue light to appear, and with a graceful slashing motion she ran her rigid fingers through the taught strings, causing an almighty roar to explode off of the harp and countless streaks of curving, dark blue water to burst out of it, all twisting and writhing as they rocketed towards Sailor Saturn, whose eyes were huge with shock-

"SILENCE WALL!" came her thunderous shout, and suddenly, an electric cackle had rent the air, causing bolts of jagged black energy to erupt seemingly out of nowhere and solidify in a cackling wall that her Aqua Rhapsody slammed into with crushing force. Most of the ribbons of water diverted off its curving surface, rocketing harmlessly away from the Messiah of Silence, but several rebounded off the wall and shot back towards Mercury.

This all happened in less than two seconds, and the speed with which the circumstances had changed left Mercury paralyzed with shock, and she was thus unable to defend herself when her attack rammed back into her. Excruciating pain tore through her as each ribbon of water slammed into her chest, and with a scream, she was blasted off her feet, thrashing from side to side as she flew backwards, her world reduced to a mass of senseless noise and streaking, blurred colours. She crashed hard onto the ground some fifty feet away from Saturn, and bounced a full three feet in the air upon impact before coming to a complete, agonizing halt. Gasping and spluttering, Mercury forced herself upright, her head spinning, whole form shaking from the aftershock of her Aqua Rhapsody. Saturn lowered her Silence Glaive, causing the wall of black energy to vanish, and the Outer Scout immediately zeroed in on the place where she had landed. Even from the distance between them, Mercury could see her opponent's features harden, and suddenly, she was running towards her, almost horizontal, arms held stiff as they trailed out behind her, barely touching the ground for the speed she was flying at. Pain instantly forgotten, Mercury sprang to her feet and, struck by a sudden burst of inspiration, pulled out her minicomputer and flipped it open, tapping frantically on its wafer thin keyboard in order to conjure up her dark blue scanner, which appeared just as Saturn reached her; with a cry of rage, she slashed her Silence Glaive through the air and Mercury, snapping her computer closed, skipped backwards out of harm's way, landing tensely in a half-crouch.

It was next to impossible to see what Saturn was doing, for her field of view was obscured by a mass of bright yellow technological readouts, all screaming for her attention as they scanned her surroundings. Mustering up all her powers of concentration, Mercury looked past the mass of readouts towards the Outer Scout, and was forced to adopt a sort of double vision necessary to avoid being slashed to bits by the wicked blade of her Glaive and manning the readouts.

"Fight – _back!" _growled Saturn, staggering forwards after a particularly vicious swipe, sweat glistening on her forehead as she glared frustratedly at her.

"Oh, I will," Mercury panted, ducking out from under the butt of the Glaive, a small smile curving her lips as the maelstrom of readouts finally calmed, highlighting the middle of the Messiah of Silence's weapon in bright yellow to show that it was a weak spot. Mercury tapped the side of her head to cause her scanner to vanish and, displaying reflexes that shocked even her, leapt over yet another swipe from the Outer Scout's weapon. As Saturn followed through from her swing, she leapfrogged over her and, landing heavily on her feet, whipped around to face her at the same moment the Messiah of Silence turned to glare murderously over her shoulder at her, and they both sprung into action at the same time-

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Mercury shouted, slashing her hand through the air in a rough circle and causing a roaring mass of water to encircle her form, which hovered for only a moment

"SILENCE GLAIVE...SURPRISE!" shouted Saturn, slamming the butt of her Silence Glaive down upon the ground and causing a mass of cackling black bolts of energy to rocket forwards, twisting and writhing as they sprinted towards Mercury, so loud that the roars of the crowd were actually subdued.

Though both were ready for the attacks, neither managed to avoid them completely; Saturn, who tried to leap out of harm's way, received a blow from Mercury's Aqua Illusion on the feet, causing her entire lower half to become obscured by a mass of crystalline blue water while toppling backwards out of the air. When she landed on the ground, the cocoon of water surrounding her solidified into a thin layer of ice, trapping her against the sandy ground in a ludicrous, splayed position, while her Silence Glaive slipped out of her grip and created a deep gash in one of her cheeks.

Mercury, meanwhile, diverted some of the waves of water that would have otherwise rocketed towards Saturn in favour of protecting herself, moulding it into a rough half-sphere of protection. Saturn's attack collided with the wall of water with an ear-splitting boom, and the impact was so forceful that the Soldier of Water was shunted back six feet, her hair flying chaotically around her in a powerful gust of unnatural wind. Though her Aqua Illusion absorbed most of the lightning bolts of energy, some managed to puncture through it and, almost as though they had locked onto her form, slammed into Mercury with the force of a bomb, force that would have undoubtedly been much greater had it not been for Queen Serenity's magic. Pain exploded through Mercury's body, setting her every nerve on fire, turning her blood to acid as she was blasted forcibly backwards once more, her screams of pain deafened by the uproarious explosion that was the result of each Soldier's attack ramming into their opponent.

This time, she flew so far that she actually collided with one of the cold metal walls that marked the edge of the battle arena. The impact, hardly painful in comparison to the pain of Saturn's attack, caused little stars to erupt before her eyes, and with a little moan of pain, she felt herself sliding downwards, each heartbeat bringing with it oceans of pain.

In a strange, disembodied sort of way, Mercury saw little orbs of green light floating out of her torso, warning signs that she was bordering on a KO. For a moment, she considered allowing Saturn to beat her, just to end the pain, to be healed by Queen Serenity, just like Sailor Moon-

_Absolutely not, _shouted her iron core. _If you were meant to give up, you wouldn't still be lying here. The whole point of being a Sailor Soldier is to prevail through impossible circumstances, and this is one of those times!_

And so, with an effort that felt like it might kill her, Mercury forced herself upright, her stomach lurching unpleasantly, her whole body screaming in protest to the physical strain of doing such a simple action. Mustering all her powers of concentration, she forced herself to see through the blinding haze of pain disorientation to focus on Saturn, who, like her, looked to be on the verge of a KO; her form was surrounded by orbs of glowing green light that danced around her shuddering form, her legs were frozen to the ground, courtesy of her Aqua Illusion, and a river of what looked horribly like blood was cascading down the left side of her face.

Feeling as though she were about to throw up, Mercury staggered to her feet, her whole world lurching as she did so. The crowd was nothing more than a swimming mass of upturned faces, and emanating from every side of her was roaring, incredible noise, noise that was making it impossible for her to concentrate, noise that was doing her more harm than help.

_Pull yourself together! _Mercury told herself sternly. _You know how to beat Saturn, so stop stalling and do it! _Shaking her head vigorously, she pressed the heel of her hand to her temple and started forwards, focusing all her powers of concentration on walking in a straight line. As her vision began to settle, she was able to see Saturn twisting and writhing and kicking in a furious attempt to shatter the thin layer of ice that then only thing that kept her pinned to the ground. Mercury could hear the shrill cracks that signified that the last traces of her Aqua Illusion were breaking up, and Saturn, in a startling display of strength, managed to rip her arm out of the sheet of ice's grip and pressed her hand against her slashed cheek, narrowing her eyes in concentration as focused on something Mercury could not fathom. But as the Messiah of Silence's eyes became glowing orbs of bright lavender light, devoid of white or pupil, and howling winds caused her raven black hair to fly about her thin face, she realized that, despite all her efforts, Saturn was about to start off with a clean slate.

"_NO!" _Mercury screamed, an explosion of noise born of her frustration, and exhaustion and pain morphed into furious denial, prompting her to sprint forwards, driven by a mad desperation to end this battle, with her as the victor-

She crossed the distance between her and Saturn in less than five seconds, but in those five seconds, the Outer Scout had healed the gash in her cheek and gotten agilely to her feet, her Silence Glaive in hand once more, a taunting smile upon her face. Mercury, however, was too outraged to be intimidated; in a move that was both extremely brave and impossibly stupid, she grabbed the black wooden shaft that was the elongated handle of Saturn's weapon and, with strength that shocked even her, wrenched in out of the Messiah of Silence's grip and cracked the Glaive in half over one knee. The entire audience drew in a collective, horrified gasp as the sound of the wood breaking ran throughout the arena, and Saturn's eyes widened in both dismay and agony as she looked at the two halves of her deadly weapon, as though Mercury had broken her, not the length of wood, but she was still too enraged to care; cupping her hands around the air before her, she twirled gracefully on the spot, rage bubbling up inside her, sensing that the moment for its release was drawing near, and in a thunderous voice must unlike her usual one, Mercury shouted, "MERCURY BUBBLES..._BLAST!"  
_On the last word, she slashed her hands through the air, an act that caused a maelstrom of opaque bubbles to roar into existence, and they rocketed through the air at a speed to rival light's, growing larger with each second they spent in the living realm, magnifying the horror that was etched upon Saturn's face into huge proportions-

Her attack was so vicious, so driven by rage that the Messiah of Silence did not even have time to be thrown backwards through the air; a ring of green light exploded off of her form, and suddenly, her Mercury Bubbles, Sailor Saturn and her Silence Glaive had vanished leaving nothing but skid marks and a few drops of blood in their place.

Her pain and exhaustion suddenly caught up with her, and Mercury staggered forwards, panting heavily, her hands resting on her knees, head bowed, reeling at what she had just done. The crowd, meanwhile, had gone absolutely silent, the resulting explosion of her final attack still ringing throughout the massive circular space, a reminder of how unnecessary, how costly it had been for her to have defeated Saturn.

And then, quite abruptly, the fans exploded back into life, all of them roaring and screaming and clapping and stamping their feet, dozens of horns bellowed their triumphant baritones, banners displaying startlingly accurate pictures of her face waved amidst the sea of faces, and Mercury allowed a relieved smile to spread across her face, and in a rare display of letting loose, threw back her head and let out a triumphant shout of _"YES!" _punching the air beside her head victoriously.

_I did it, _she thought, dazed by her own happiness. _I knocked out one of the tops seeds! I'm moving on to the next round, and with any luck, I'll be facing Sailor Mini Moon in Round Two. _She caught a glimpse of her delighted features, enhanced to a hundred times their original size by the massive floating screen above her head, before she found herself standing once more in the participants' level of the stadium. Eight of her nine fellow Soldiers surrounded her, and everyone was either looking stunned or fervently impressed, particularly Uranus, though it looked to be against her will.

"Nice going, Mercury," Jupiter congratulated her, clapping her on the shoulder with a little more force than she thought was strictly necessary.

"Oh my gosh, that was _amazing, _couldn't you say something a little more congratulatory than _that, _Jupiter?" Sailor Moon gushed, her eyes shining with excitement as she hugged Mercury tightly.

"Coming from the girl who lost to a little kid," Venus muttered, winking roguishly at Serena before clasping hands briefly with Mercury. Uranus, Mars and Rini all sniggered as Sailor Moon disentangled herself from Mercury to glare murderously at Venus, but their group was distracted by Queen Serenity and Sailor Saturn walking forwards. The playful comments and excited whoops were instantly silenced, and Mercury adopted an expression appropriate for someone who had just witnessed a gruesome murder.

"Saturn, I -" she began, but the Messiah of Silence waved her apology down, a half-smile upon her lips.

"It's alright," she murmured, in her quiet, almost shy voice. "Everyone has a right to get carried away sometimes."

"She's quite right, Mercury," Queen Serenity said, smiling at her with dancing lilac eyes. "You have nothing to apologize for...though breaking her Silence Glaive was, I'll admit, a tad unnecessary."

At this, everyone burst into raucous laughter, all except for Mercury, whose face was so red that you could have fried an egg on it. She stared embarrassedly at the floor, rubbing the back of her head self-consciously and silently willing Queen Serenity to call the group to order.

"I hope I face you next round, Mercury," called Sailor Mini Moon, elbowing Venus and Mars out of her way in her eagerness to reach the latest victor. "You might actually gimme some sorta challenge!"

"Why you little- " growled Serena, and before anyone could intervene, the Moon Princess had tackled her daughter, and the two of them rolled across the metal floor, pulling each other's hair and scratching their opponent's faces.

"Cool it, Meatball Head," Mars said, dashing forwards and pulling Serena off of her daughter.

"Same goes for you, Small Lady," Pluto murmured, prying Rini off Sailor Moon's leg and whacking her reprovingly across the back of the head with her gloved hand.

"Thank you," Serenity said, silently gesturing for Mars and Pluto to release the descendants to the throne. "Rini, Serena, I assure you that, if it were not the day of the tournament, we would all like nothing better than to watch you two fight ." everyone sniggered quietly, while Sailors Moon and Mini Moon stared daggers at each other. "However, it _is _the day of the tournament, and I am afraid-" she gestured towards the arena, where the crowd had taken it upon themselves to shout requests as to who they wanted to see battle next (the most popular was Sailor Uranus). "That the show must go on."

"That's good news," Jupiter said, cracking her knuckles expectantly. "I'm sure they're tired of watching warm-up matches...no offense," she added, winking at the Soldier of Water and Messiah of Silence.

"I'm going to hope we never end up meeting in a dark alley...for your sake," Saturn murmured, and everyone laughed.

"Bring it on," Mars said, tossing her long black hair over her shoulder. "I'm gonna fall asleep if I don't fight soon!"

"Oh, we wouldn't want that to happen," Serenity murmured, and with a mysterious smile upon her face, she waved one hand almost idly through the air, causing two of their number to vanish in a flurry of green sparks.

"Do you always have to do that so unexpectedly?" Venus demanded, mocking annoyance.

"Oh, come on," Queen Serenity laughed. "It's never as fun when you're expecting it."

**Round 1 C**

"_Finally," _muttered Uranus, punching one hand into the other as she walked down the dark hallway that led towards the battle arena. "Jupiter won't know what hit her...though it's nothing personal."

Uranus strode forwards, feeling incredibly cocky, her eyes narrowed to slits as she halted just outside the entrance to the stadium, surveying the crowd with some interest. Even though it was against everything she stood for to be participating in such an unnecessary, childish display of strengths and weaknesses, she couldn't help but be infected by the uproarious cheers of the crowd, and found herself thinking that she could very well end up winning this tournament.

_After all, look who I'm up against, _she thought with a smile, picturing Mini Moon and Mercury. _No one's got a chance compared against me!_

"In the west corner, Sailor Jupiter!" cried Serenity, her magically magnified voice echoing throughout the narrow passageway she was standing in. Uranus narrowed her eyes slightly as Jupiter's smiling face appeared on the massive floating screen up ahead, waving cockily at the crowd assembled around her.

_Enjoy it while it lasts, _Uranus thought, folding her arms contemptuously across her chest and blowing a strand of hair out of her face. _Because it'll be over soon._

"And in the eastern corner, Sailor Uranus!"

At her name, the crowd went absolutely berserk, and Uranus actually saw several flags bearing her face and colours waving throughout the audience. Allowing a slight smile to twist her lips, Uranus stepped out of the shadows and into the brightly lit arena, and in sharp contrast to Jupiter, she refused to wave at the rest of the crowd, keeping her arms folded tight across her chest as she strode quickly towards the center of the arena, where Sailor Jupiter was waiting, one hand on her hip, sizing her up like a lion does its prey.

"Fancy meeting you here," Jupiter said, winking cockily as she came to a halt before her.

"Where'd all this bravery come from?" Uranus demanded through unmoving lips, surveying her opponent through narrowed eyes.

"FIGHT!" declared Queen Serenity, her words ringing over the deafening roar of the crowd. Uranus slipped into a half-crouch, and Jupiter shadowed her, prompting the pair of them to start circling each other in perfect unison.

"You're about to find out," muttered Jupiter, and without warning, she sprinted forwards, a war cry of sorts ripping itself from her lips as she lashed out in hard punch. Uranus laughed in amusement and ducked out from under Jupiter's blow, pivoting sharply in order to keep her fellow Soldier in sight. Jupiter dug her heels into the sand in order to stop herself, a vein pulsing in her temple as she turned to look at Uranus, but her ferocious snarl was only to be replaced by a look of wide-eyed horror as Uranus flung herself forwards, bringing her leg forwards in a crushing roundhouse kick.

Not for nothing, however, was Jupiter the strongest of the Inner Soldiers; in a move that surprised even Uranus, she forced her hand in front of her face and caught her foot inches from her face, though the blow was still forceful enough to cause her to skid backwards. With a contemptuous growl, Uranus yanked her leg out of Jupiter's grip, but the moment she did so her enemy lunged forwards in a crushing uppercut punch that caught the off-guard Uranus right in the stomach. All of breath rushed out of her lungs in a huff as she caught the blow, causing her to fall back onto the ground in a surprised heap.

"_Ha!" _snorted Jupiter, clapping her hands together to brush the dust off of them. "Is that the best you've got?"

"You wish," hissed Uranus, and with a roar she sprung off of the ground and flung herself at Jupiter, unleashing a flurry of lightning fast blows upon the Inner Scout, a routine she herself had perfected, consisting of harsh uppercut punches and sharp kicks. Jupiter gave a bewildered scream and crossed her arms in front of her face in an effort to protect herself, while catching countless blows to her arms and torso. She hit the ground in a bruised heap, shaking slightly as she forced herself onto her hands and knees.

"Face it kid; I'm outta your league," Uranus taunted, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes in a cocky imitation of her friend. Jupiter gave a shaky laugh and pushed herself off of the ground, a savage grin upon her face.

"You think so, don't you?" she laughed harshly, and then, so quickly she wasn't sure how it happened, Jupiter was on her feet, her fists clenched at her sides. "JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!" she shouted, closing her hand upon the golden sign of Jupiter that had appeared before her, and with a graceful twirl she began to spin on the spot, causing bolts of electric green energy to explode out of her tiara, blinding the Outer Scout, and she was thus unable to defend herself when lethal leaves of jade light cackled into existence, tearing towards the place where she was standing. Each one collided into her with the force of a grenade exploding, and as the final one hit her she was blasted off her feet, jagged bolts of pain tearing through her body as she flew backwards through the air, roaring in pain. She landed on the ground in a throbbing pile, her whole body a mass of agony, but she forced herself to think through the pain, recognizing what sounded like a stampede of elephants trampling forwards as Jupiter running forwards. Shaking her head in order to clear it, she forced herself onto her hands and knees, glaring through the foggy haze of pain that clouded her vision to see her rival sprinting into view, furious concentration etched upon her face, one fist drawn over her shoulder. A snarl of denial fixed itself on her face as Jupiter approached, and she waited until the last second before springing out of her tensed position, flipping onto her hands and kicking her legs out in a hazardous three-sixty twist, boots connecting harshly with Jupiter's face, causing the girl to give a scream of pain and fly backwards through the air. Uranus turned a back flip before landing agilely on her feet, and she instantly zeroes in on the place where Jupiter had collapsed, and with a grunt of effort she leapt impossibly high into the air, her eyes fixed upon her enemy's limp form, one leg drawn up to her chest, the other rigid, extended as far as it would go as she rocketed downwards, aiming for the Inner Scout's head-

But with startling speed, Jupiter drew her arms and legs tightly into her chest and rolled out of harm's way a second before she landed forcefully on the ground, absorbing the impact with her knees and slipping into a half-crouch as she turned quickly on the spot, a growl ripping itself from her lips as she stared about for Jupiter, who came flying out of nowhere, her shout ringing through the air as she lashed brought one arm over her shoulder in a blow that, if it made contact, would have been powerful enough to shatter her shoulder. Uranus, however, was not about to be incapacitated so easily; narrowing her eyes, she forced one arm horizontally in front of her face, and employed an elbow block to parry her opponent's attack. The two of them stood there for a moment, their limbs shaking from the effort of the effort of denying each other, snarls of furious concentration rippling their lips, neither relenting, so equally matched it was almost frightening.

"Nice moves," Uranus growled appreciatively, and with a burst of strength she swung her arm through the air and caused Jupiter to stagger backwards, nearly tripping from the force of her counterattack, and was thus unable to defend herself when she dashed forwards and somersault kicked her under the chin. The Inner Scout gave a bewildered shout as she toppled over, spitting out a mouthful of blood, but Uranus was merciless; raising one hand above her head, an orb of topaz light appeared above her palm, while her surroundings became obscured by a mass of red and black light. Fury pulsed through her head as she glared at Jupiter, and suddenly, the rage was too much, prompting her to release it with a roar of, "URANUS WORLD _SHAKING!"_

She closed her fist around the orb of light and slammed it forcibly upon the ground before her, creating an explosion of supernova-class proportions. The orb, now twenty times its original size, continued right on through the ground and then rocketed forwards, leaving a mass of cracked plates of sand in its wake. To be fair to Jupiter, daemons that were capable of destroying entire cities had been reduced to smouldering piles of ash when faced with her attack, and thus it was to no one's surprise that Jupiter was blasted backwards, her screams drowned out by the resulting explosion of her World Shaking colliding with something solid. The insane roars of the crowd were bordering on deafening, and the first true smile that had graced her face in days broke across her face as Uranus narrowed her eyes against the blazing light that had yet to clear, born out of her attack. Jupiter was nowhere to be seen, but she dared to hope that it was because her World Shaking had blasted her back into the fighter's level of the stadium, and not necessarily because she had been ferried there by orbs of green light.

"Come on!" she shouted, waving her hand through the air before her in an effort to help clear it. "Is that the best you've -"

"JUPITER THUNDER DRAGON!"

Jupiter's cry gave no indication that she had just experienced terrible agony, and thundered with power and supremacy as it rent the air apart. The light that had lingered as a result of her World Shaking vanished, banished by the explosion of sound that ripped its way into existence, emanating from its obscured center, and a dragon, composed of cackling electric greenish-blue lightning ripped its way into sight, thirty feet long and loud enough to rival the din of twenty thunderstorms raging at once, its massive maw opened wide, teeth five feet long and razor sharp, lethal even if they were not composed of lightning. With a graceful snap of its back that seemed impossible for a beast with such a brutal appearance, the dragon rocketed forwards, preparing to snap its jaws closed upon her-

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Uranus roared, and from out of her skirt she withdrew the Space Sword, one of the three talismans of the Outer Soldiers, and forced it in front of her, its jewel-encrusted blade shining as brightly as the sun as it reflected the light from Jupiter's attack. As the Thunder Dragon came within ten feet of her, a translucent sphere of topaz energy ripped its way into existence, forming a protective barrier between her and the thing that would most certainly result in a KO, and with an ear-splitting crash, Jupiter's attack slammed into the sphere, the impact so forceful that, despite her attempt to block it, Uranus was blasted back through the air in a burst of energy so violent that her arms and legs threatened to pop out of their sockets. She flew a full fifty feet before collapsing upon the sandy ground with the force of a bull elephant being dropped out of an airplane, but the impact was nothing, _nothing, _compared to the agony that she inflicted upon Jupiter, who emitted a roar of utmost, excruciating pain as her own attack rammed back into her, sending hundreds of volts of electricity ripping through her body.

Even if she had not been hit by Uranus' World Shaking, she would not have survived her rebounding attack.

In explosion of violent green light that was punctuated by shards of white, Jupiter vanished, leaving absolutely nothing in her wake. The crowd exploded into life, and in a wave-like motion everyone leapt to their feet, shouting and screaming their approval, each determined to make themselves heard to Uranus, the victor of this third battle, which had been by far the most evenly matched of all the ones they had seen.

Sweeping her sandy blonde hair out of her face, Uranus broke away from all her cold formality and allowed herself saluted the crowd, her Space Sword still in hand, a trickle of blood leaking out of the corner of her mouth. High above her, the massive monitor displayed her broadly grinning face, greyish-blue eyes alight with triumph as she surveyed the empty battle field.

The next thing she knew, however, she was standing in the participant's level of the arena, and had the confused impression of metallic blue walls, white bodices and multicoloured skirts before someone had disentangled themselves from the group of Sailor Soldiers before her with a delighted laugh.

"Amara, well done!" gushed Neptune, her soft turquoise haired-head burying itself in her shoulder as she wrapped her slim arms around her waist. Grinning in a disoriented sort of way, Uranus clapped her companion on the back, smiling over the top of her head at where the rest of the Soldiers were standing. Jealousy was etched upon the faces of Sailors Moon, Saturn and Mini Moon, who clearly envied the ease with which she had defeated Jupiter. Venus and Pluto looked mildly impressed, but Mars and Neptune's congratulations were spread effortlessly across their faces, clearly the most happy with her performance.

"At least I know _someone's _gonna give me a challenge in the next round," Mars said, rolling her eyes in mock annoyance at the lack of competition her opponent provided her with.

"Speak for yourself, I doubt you'll be able to make it past Pluto," Venus grinned, punching Mars playfully on the shoulder, only to receive a much harder one in return.

"Nice work, Uranus," Serena complemented her grudgingly, and Neptune disentangled herself from Uranus in order to beam up at her face, anticipation shining in her eyes.

"You did more than _nice," _purred her companion, touching her playfully on the nose. "I just hope we don't end up facing each other in Round Two."

"Blah, blah, blah," Rini said, flapping a hand through the air beside her head as she rolled her eyes at Uranus. "I don't see what the big deal is; we all know no one's gonna beat me."

"Don't be so sure of yourself, little lady," Venus said, tugging on one of Mini Moon's short pink pigtails. Rini irritably pulled her hair out of the Soldier of Love's grip and stalked away, depositing herself moodily on one of the black couches that were scattered throughout the room.

"Well done, Uranus," came Serenity's soft, melodious voice, and everyone fell silent as the Queen stepped came from the balcony, one of Jupiter's arms slung over her shoulder. "I believe the other Soldiers have their work cut out for them."

Jupiter smiled grudgingly at her, her dark jade eyes sparkling with envy. "Good job," she muttered, almost as if the words were wrenched from her lips against her will. "I'd rather have lost to you than anyone else."

"Same here," Uranus muttered, clasping hands briefly with Jupiter. "But the better woman won, eh?"

A pained look flashed across Jupiter's face, and for a moment, Uranus was certain that she was about to slap her, but then the thought had gone, and the Inner Soldier's face was an expressionless mask as she said through unmoving lips, "Just make sure Mini Moon doesn't win. I don't think any of us will be able to live it down if she does."

"Don't worry," Uranus said, smiling appreciatively at Jupiter's request. "I have no intention of letting that happen."

"Congratulations to all our contestants!" Serenity boomed, and Venus, who was closest to the Queen, gave a cry of alarm at how loud her voice had become magically magnified once more, while Serena and Mercury toppled out of their chair in surprise. "Over half of the battles in the first round have taken place, and I know that there has been at least one major upset -" everyone's eyes flickered towards Saturn's face and away so fast they appeared blurred, while the Messiah of Silence shot a mockingly accusing glance at Mercury. "but there are still two more battles to come before the matchups for Round Two are determined, and I will remind you that, of all the nine kingdoms in our Solar System, only one of the champions will be left standing in the end!"

On the last word, the crowd burst into raucous applause, and Serenity smiled slightly as she stared at the assembled Soldiers through dancing lilac eyes. "Venus, Mars, Neptune, Pluto, please come here," she murmured, her voice mercifully returned to its usual volume as she listed off the names of the Sailors who had yet to battle. "Join hands," she whispered, and obediently, the called Soldiers did, exchanging sceptical looks as they took another's gloved hand in their own.

Suddenly, Venus and Neptune vanished in an explosion of tiny green orbs of light, causing Pluto and Mars to stagger backwards in alarm. A small, musical laugh escaped Serenity's lips, and Uranus cast a suspicious look at the Queen.

"Was there any point in joining hands?" she demanded amusedly.

"No. None at all," murmured Serenity, her light eyes sparkling with laughter. Then, with a graceful swish of her pristinely white dress, she turned and walked out towards the balcony, her arms spread wide as she addressed the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Round One D!"


	3. Round 1, Part 2

**Round 1 D**

Sailor Venus smiled expectantly as she rematerialized inside a dimly-lit metal passageway, the dull roar of applause echoing off the narrow walls, filling her ears.

_How could anyone not want to do this? _She asked herself, gracefully crossing the distance between herself and the end of the passageway, her smile growing ever-wider as the roaring grew decidedly louder. Even from the distance between her and the crowd, she could hear wolf-whistles and cat calls emanating out over the senseless wall of noise, directed at her. A faint blush crept into her cheeks as she imagined the snide taunts Serena, Mars and Jupiter would make at her when she returned from the battle.

_We'll see whose laughing when the three of them find themselves out of the running, _she thought, clenching her fists as she reached the end of the passageway, bathed in shadows, surprised at how large the arena looked from ground level.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present...Sailor Neptune!" cried Serenity's deafening voice, and the hoots and cheers of the audience exploded into a wall of senseless noise ten times louder than its former formidibality. Venus narrowed her eyes slightly as Neptune stepped out of the shadows and into the brightly-lit arena, her beautiful features enlarged by the massive floating monitor that hung overhead. Her oceanic blue eyes sparkled in delight as she waved modestly at the crowd, a slight smile playing about her lips, an air of cockiness emanating out of her pixelated form.

_Get ready, Neptune, _Venus thought, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder. _I'm comin' at ya._

"And in the western side of the arena, her challenger, Sailor Venus!" shouted Queen Serenity, and Venus danced out of the shadows and out into the open, revelling in the uproarious din that assaulted her ears from every side, glorying in the limelight that was fixed solely on her, in the cheers of hundreds upon hundreds of fans driven insane with admiration.

A broad smile spread across her face, and Venus winked roguishly and blew a kiss at the crowd, before a voice very much like Artemis' sounded in her head. _There'll be plenty of time to show off later, _it said sternly, puncturing her bubble of isolated enjoyment. _Neptune's waiting for you, and I'd get off that high horse if I were you; she's gotta be one of the toughest Soldiers in this tournament, after Uranus, of course._

Mastering herself, Venus stopped waving and walked towards the center of the arena, where Neptune stood, waiting with her right hand rubbing her left arm, looking perfectly calm, an expression Venus did not like to be upon any of her enemy's faces; calmness always indicated that they had a plan, something she did not have.

_Oh damn, _she thought, an icy jolt of fear tearing through her. _What have I gotten myself into?_

After an eternity of walking, she reached the center of the arena, and though the crowd's cheers were just as loud as they had been when she entered the arena, she felt disconnected from them, like they were a hundred miles away and submerged under water. Her heart pumped a mixture of anxiety and adrenaline through her veins, alternatively paralyzing her with fear and filling her with the desire to attack. Neptune smiled slightly at her as she halted before her, though whether it was mocking or not Venus could not tell. The next thing she knew, however, Serenity had declared, "FIGHT!" and with a soft little growl Neptune had lunged forwards, her hands outstretched and curled into claws. A cry of alarm escaped Venus' lips, for she had not been expecting her opponent to attack so soon, and she was thus unable to defend herself as Neptune rammed into her, causing her to tumble backwards and collide painfully with the ground, wrenching another cry from her lips, but this time it was an angry one.

"Neptune –" she exclaimed, trying to shove the Soldier of the Ocean off her, swatting at her hands when she tried to punch her. "What the hell...get _off!"_

On the last word, she succeeded in kicking Neptune hard in the stomach, destabilizing her, and with a grunt of effort she heaved herself backwards in an agile back flip, effectively throwing Neptune off her. She landed lightly on her gloved hands before sharply rounding off her acrobatic twist, landing upright in a tense half-crouch. She instantly dispelled the faint dizziness that had been lingering about her and zeroed in on Neptune, who had somehow landed upright, a look of detached fury upon her face as she glared back at her.

They stood there for a split second, sizing each other up, and then Venus broke the silence with a war cry of sorts, sprinting forwards and lashing out in a hard uppercut punch that caught Neptune in the stomach, causing her breath to rush out of her lungs in a huff. To Venus' surprise, she recovered almost immediately, and retaliated by bringing her knee up forcibly and ramming her in the gut, causing her to double over in pain, coughing slightly. She staggered backwards in a futile attempt to get out of her opponent's range, and Neptune, unimpressed, dashed forwards and rammed her hard in the middle of her back while simultaneously swinging her leg forwards and knocking her legs out from underneath her. Venus screamed in pain and bewilderment as she collapsed onto the ground in a throbbing heap, tears of pain blurring her vision, but her heightened sense of hearing told her that Neptune was fast approaching, and so, forcing herself to work through the pain, she twisted onto her back and, making the sign of love with one gloved hand, shouted, "VENUS LOVE CHAIN _ENCIRCLE!" _

On the last word, a long chain of interlocking golden hearts appeared around her raised hand, and with a sharp flick of her wrist, Venus sent it lashing out towards her opponent, whose eyes widened in shock as something she could only have identified as a streak of gold rocketed towards her, and in less than a second, the chain had bound Neptune tightly from the chest to her knees, cackling with lethal white sparks that caused the Outer Soldier to give strangled gasps and cries of pain. Leaping to her feet and wiping the moisture from her eyes on the back of one gloved hand, Venus seized the end of her Love Chain and pulled hard on it, dragging Neptune towards her and nearly causing her to overbalance. With a cry of concentration, Venus released her grip on the chain and twisted herself into a mid-air roundhouse kick, but it was at that precise moment that Neptune overbalanced and fell backwards, narrowly avoiding being kicked in the face. Twisting out of her attack, the Soldier of Love landed in a splayed crouch upon the ground, her teeth bared, pulse pounding deafeningly in her ears. She saw Neptune fall as if in slow motion, and with an outraged cry, she broke free of her Love Chain, shattering it with an almost musical smash, causing it to disintegrate into thousands of glittering fragments. The Outer Soldier hit the ground but rolled into a controlled backwards somersault almost immediately, and with blinding speed, she popped to her feet, a look of furious concentration upon her face as she raised her hands above her head, an orb of oceanic blue water appearing between them, while pillars of water erupted around her.

"NEPTUNE DEEP SUBMERGE!" she shouted, and with a graceful twist she unleashed the orb, which had expanded to ten times its original size in less than three seconds, and with the ear-splitting roar of the crashing sea, the ball of water rocketed towards a slightly stunned Venus, who had known what had been coming but had no idea as to how she was supposed to dodge it, and so it must have looked quite pathetic as she allowed herself to be slammed into by several tonnes of magically enhanced water, so forceful that the impact threatened to tear her limb from limb. Her screams were drowned out quite literally, for an onslaught of water hit her squarely in the face, flooding her mouth and nose, plastering her hair to her face. Gasping and spluttering, Venus slammed into an unforgiving, cold metal wall with the force of a bomb exploding, almost enough to plunge her into unconsciousness. The deafening sound of a small tsunami slamming into metal assaulted her ears from every side, and she slid down the wall in a drenched heap, collapsing limply into a puddle of waterlogged mud. Every part of her body ached with a thousand year's worth of pain, and yet, continuing with her quest to be eternally persevering, a quest she had embarked on because of Sailor Moon, Venus forced herself onto her hands and knees, coughing and retching as she expelled water laced with some sort of thick fluid from her mouth and nose, her eyes burning, pricking with tears.

Raking strands of wet hair out of her face, Venus looked up just in time to see a white and turquoise streak rocketing towards her, a high-heeled foot lashing out of nowhere. With a cry, she threw herself instinctively out of harm's way, and just in time; Neptune's foot collided with the place her head had been seconds before with the forcing of a charging rhinoceros, and she looked just as furious as one as she twisted around to face Venus, who was dismayed to see that she had not managed to land a single scratch on her opponent. She immediately leapt up off the ground and slid into a tense half-crouch, breathing as heavily as if she had just run a marathon, dripping wet, looking like a drowning rat in comparison to the pristine Neptune.

"ARGH!" cried the Soldier of the Ocean, and with that inarticulate declaration she lunged forwards, her arms reduced to gloved blurs as she initiated a blinding mass of hook and straight punches, her pointed face blazing with concentration. A huff of surprised exertion escaped Venus' lips as she ducked and twisted out of harm's way, sashaying left and right and skipping backwards to avoid being punched into unconsciousness.

"FIGHT-BACK!" snarled a frustrated Neptune, as Venus rolled out from underneath the range of a particularly ferocious straight punch that would have hit her squarely in the face.

"If that's what you want," Venus said in a mocking voice, and with that, she leapfrogged Neptune and spun around in a sharp twirl, extending one leg and knocking out the back of her opponent's knees. As Neptune fell forwards, Venus, lightning-fast, leapt onto the Outer Soldier's shoulders in sitting position and heaved herself backwards, catapulting her backwards through the air in a bewildered heap.

The crowd went insane as Venus completed her no-hands back flip and landed hard upright, her breath coming in short gasps. Somehow, over the tens of thousands of screaming voices, she heard Uranus shouting angrily out to her partner, her low, almost masculine voice cracked with tension.

"Come on Neptune, she's just a little kid!" bellowed the Soldier of the Sky, and Venus barely restrained herself from making an obscene gesture at her. Remembering where she was, Venus whipped around, just in time to see Neptune withdrawing, incredibly, her Marine Cathédrale, her violin, a look of utmost concentration upon her face.

Venus was so surprised that she couldn't help but laugh. "Ooh, there's no way I'll win now," she said sarcastically, mocking terror. "How can I hope to win when you're about to assault my ears with a bunch of screeching strings?"

She would later regard that as one of the top three stupidest things she had ever said; if Neptune had been enraged before, it was nothing compared to the fury that was etched upon every line of her face after Venus spoke.

"SUBMARINE VIOLIN TIDE!" screamed Neptune, and with the skill of an expert violinist, the Soldier of the Ocean swept her bow across the taught strings of her priceless instrument, and with an ear-splitting roar, a positive tidal wave of water exploded out of the small piece of glossy wood, swirling and twisting and cackling with an impossible amount of magic. Venus could only scream as she was completely submerged in a hundred tonnes of lethal, magically enhanced ocean water, water that flooded her mouth and nose with its icy coldness, drenching her to the bone, while absolute, excruciating pain tore through her. She could not see, could not think, and only retained sense to keep herself from screaming, for screaming would surely result in drowning, no matter how powerful Serenity's precautions were. The world was naught but a mass of senseless, impossible roaring noise, and everywhere she looked as she tumbled head over heels, ferried backwards by the sheer force of Neptune's attack, was absolute, deepest blue, burning her eyes every time she opened them.

After an eternity of helpless tumbling, Venus slammed into a merciless, unforgiving something with awful finality, but even with this impact the water did not stop. Choking and spluttering, the Soldier of Love found herself pinned against the freezing metal side of the arena, unable to keep herself from taking wild breaths any longer, except these all came back up laced with fluid. A millennium could have come and gone and she wouldn't have noticed; the only way she knew time was passing was when the impossibly powerful waves stopped crashing down on her, relinquishing their iron grip on her limp body and allowing her to collapse upon the ground in a limp, harassed heap, splashing into several inches of displaced water.

Venus could not move, could not think, only choke down huge gasps of air, her whole form heaving with each one. Patches of black obscured her vision, and the only parts that were not obscured were full of glowing green orbs, spiralling lazily off her form.

_I'm so close, _she realized, flopping onto her back in attempt to speed up the clearing of her airways. _One more hit, and all this pain will end..._

Each breath brought caused her throat to sear painfully, burned by Neptune's lethal attack. Death, she reasoned, would have been more desirable over this, to be humiliated in front of thousands of people, to feel as though nothing but pain had shadowed her for the past five hundred years, to have every fibre of her being throb in agony-

_But what good would I be if I were dead? _Venus found herself asking, and she was surprised to find that this, over everything else, caused her waterlogged-head to clear, giving her the strength, at long last, to force herself to look up. _If I were really finished, I wouldn't still be here right now._

Neptune, whether out of pity or shock, was not advancing upon her, but since the world was naught by an indistinct, fuzzy blur, she could not see the Outer Scout's expression. Retching softly, Venus raised a trembling hand to brush the hair that was plastered to her face out of her eyes, forcing herself to remain calm as dozens of tiny green orbs floated away from her, as good as a signpost that could tell Neptune that she was inches away from a KO.

_Not if I have anything to say about it, _she thought grimly, and with an effort that felt like it would kill her, Venus staggered upright, and there was a beat of absolute silence before the audience burst into uproarious applause, shocked that she had not been reduced to a pile of drenched and shuddering clothes.

"Yeah, Venus!" Jupiter's shouted, somehow managing to make herself heard over the insane racket.

"You can do it!" screamed Sailor Moon, any dignity she had forgotten as she, too, called out her approval. Venus smiled weakly, and her vision cleared enough for her to be able to focus on Neptune's face, and she was pleased to see that the Outer Scout looked incredulous, a soft gasp of surprise escaping her quivering lips.

"Venus Crescent Beam SMASH!" She spluttered, pointing a finger at her opponent, and with an explosion of noise ,a concentrated beam of blinding gold and white light burst out of her fingertip, rocketing towards Neptune at an insane speed, and she dared to hope that, at long last, she was about to cause some damage to the Outer Scout-

But to her horror, Neptune seemed to have been expecting her to do such a thing, and with startling speed she produced the Deep Aqua Mirror from out of nowhere, forcing it in front of her face just in as her Crescent Beam would have slammed into her. With a metallic explosion, the jet of golden light rebounded off its flawless, reflective face and turned back upon its owner, who, acting purely on instinct, threw herself onto the ground, her arms flung over her head, but unfortunately for her, not quickly enough.

Her attack flashed over her head, growing more deadly with each second it remained in the living spectrum, and it was nothing short of miraculous when, even though it slammed into her raised arms, it did not blast her into the participants' level of the stadium. A scream of pain escaped her lips as she was hit, and unendurable agony ripped through her arms, causing the orbs that were emanating out from her to go haywire, multiplying themselves by three so that it looked like a sort of ghostly green shield had erupted around her form. Every other sound had been drowned out by the deafening pounding of her heart that was sounding in her ears as she fell flat on her back, using every last ion of her willpower to keep herself from passing out. _I'm not done with you yet, Neptune, _she thought.

The Outer Scout had clearly had enough, and both shock and exasperation coloured her musical voice as she shouted, "DAMN IT, WHEN WILL YOU GIVE UP?"

With a Herculean effort, Venus raised her head off the ground to flash a pained smile at Neptune. "After you do."

An outraged snarl ripped itself from Neptune's lips, and then she burst into action, driven by her furious desire to end this battle, an act that was mirrored by Venus, who knew that this would be her last and only chance to strike, and with that knowledge she dug into the absolute last reserves of her energy, bringing it forth to use her most powerful attack-

"NEPTUNE DEEP SUBMERGE!"

"VENUS METEOR _STRIKE!"_

The air was rent apart by both the deafening crashing of the sea and the impossible roar of dozens of massive meteors exploding out of Venus' fingertip. With almost coordinated grace, the two attacks dodged around each other, neither about to fail in their quest to slam into their enemies-

Venus' strength was utterly gone, and with a helpless scream, she clenched her eyes shut, curling herself into a ball as Neptune's attack slammed into her. Agony only possessed her for a second before every trace of water had vanished, and she was no longer lying in a pool of muddied water, but on a soft, carpeted surface, disorientation threatening to overwhelm her. Five blurry faces were hanging over her, but the Soldier of Love was too exhausted to try to identify them. People's voices were sounding from all around her, shouting nonsense at her, but she did not know who they were or what they were saying. Her heart was still thundering in her ears, her headache was bordering on blinding, and her very cells seemed to ache from being constantly assaulted by Neptune. Suddenly, without knowing how she got there, she was on her feet, two remarkably dry arms supporting her from either side, causing her to dangle about a foot above the ground. Choking and spluttering, Venus forced herself to look up, and she was completely bewildered to see Neptune standing before her, held upright by Sailors Uranus and Pluto.

"W-what?" she spluttered, completely confused, this strange development too much for her berated brain to handle. Before anyone could begin to decipher her bewildered exclamation, her world was lost in a flash of silvery white light, and when it dispersed, it took the pain and weariness with it, leaving Venus standing upright all on her own, marvelling at how clear her head had become, but no less confused.

"Well done, Soldiers!" Queen Serenity proclaimed, her face shining with happiness as she looked between the bewildered combatants. "That was by far the most exciting battle so far!"

"Who won?" demanded Venus and Neptune in perfect unison, and most of the other Soldiers nodded in agreement.

"That's what I was about to determine," cried the Queen, and everyone cried out in pain as Serenity's magically magnified voice assaulted their ears. Turning to walk back out onto the balcony, she stowed her star-topped wand in the folds of her dress and, spreading her arms wide, cried, "Ladies and gentlemen, if you could please direct your attention to the monitor, the winner will be revealed!"

As one, every member of the crowd raised their head to stare intently at the massive screen floating above them, and for once, silence was absolute. Venus and Neptune led the rest of the Sailor Soldiers out onto the balcony, the latters standing on either side of Queen Serenity, gripping the marble railing of the balcony so tightly it squeaked in protest. For a moment, the screen did not respond, bearing the word, 'KO' in bright white letters, but then it vanished, in favour of displaying a massive pause sign. With a wave of her hand, Serenity caused the sign to vanish, and the last few seconds of the fight appeared upon the screen, though instead of happening in normal speed, Neptune's Deep Submerge and Venus' Meteor Strike were trapped in super slow motion, inching towards their opponents at a painfully slow rate. A collective gasp sounded from every side of them as the crowd drew in a tense breath, every eye glued to the screen, and then, all but one person exploded into life, cheering insanely as they watched Neptune be rammed into by Venus' Meteor Strike and blasted into non-existence a second before Venus. A dazzling smile split across Venus' face as she realized what had happened, and she beamed at the crowd for only a moment before hands were raining down upon her back, the jubilant shouts of her fellow Inner Soldiers sounding in her ears.

"Way to go, Venus!" shouted Mars, hugging her tightly.

"Yeah!" cried Jupiter, punching her on the arm.

"Well done, well done, well _done!" _cried Serena, jumping up and down with joy and clasping Venus' hands in hers.

"I can't put it any better than that," Mercury said with a grin, thumping her on the back. Without really having a say in the matter, Venus was ferried back into the shelter of the participant's level, the roars of the crowd still sounding in her ears. Muttering indistinctly, she forced herself out of the gaggle of Soldiers to stand in front of Neptune, her joyous smile becoming an apologetic grimace as she took in the disappointment etched upon her face.

"Good fight," she said, her voice loaded with remorse as she extended one hand awkwardly, willing Neptune to take it. The Outer Scout did so, forcing a pained smile onto her face.

"I can't say that wasn't an upset," she responded, not quite returning Venus' compliment. "I don't know how you hung in there as long as you did."

"Don't worry," Uranus said, her low, almost masculine voice subtly threatening as her dark blue eyes bored into Venus'. "She won't last nearly as long up against me."

"Oho, I'm _so _scared," Venus retorted, rolling her eyes, an expectant smile flashing across her face as she sized Uranus up, daring the leader of the Outer Scouts to reply. Pluto opened her mouth to intervene, but as soon as she did so, she vanished in a flurry of glowing green orbs. All the tension between them vanished, and the room was filled with appreciative laughter as the others registered Pluto's and Mars' disappearances.

"People of the Solar System, Round One E!" declared Queen Serenity, and the crowd burst into applause.

**Round One E**

Pluto stood frozen for a second, the comment she was about to make to Venus and Uranus dying in her throat. _Damn it, Serenity, _she thought, clenching her fists as she pictured the smug smile upon the Queen's face. Then, _The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can get back to the Space-Time Door._

Unlike the other Soldiers who had walked this hall before her, her mind was not fixed on the fight ahead. They were fixed upon the untraceable waves of Dark energy that had been emanating in waves out from the arena since its unveiling two days ago. And while nothing particularly lethal had emerged from it yet, it did not mean that evil was not lurking in the shadows.

_But this seems...somehow more lethal than before, _the Guardian of Time thought as she stopped just before the entrance to the stadium, completely detached from the screaming of the crowd. _Like this time, it's personal._

_Like someone is in mortal peril._

"On the eastern side of the stadium, Sailor Pluto!" cried Serenity, her magically magnified voice tearing Pluto away from her thoughts. Giving a little jolt of surprise, she forced her suspicions to the back of her mind and walked out into the open, a slight smile upon her face as she allowed the cheers of the crowd to wash over her, Saturn's whoops and cheers standing out like a black bear in the snow.

_Hmm, _she thought, crossing the distance between the edge of the arena and the center of the arena faster than any of her fellows for her height advantage. _Maybe this won't be that bad after all._

"And her challenger, Sailor Mars!" declared Serenity, and at her name, the Soldier of Fire stepped out of the shadows, waving confidently at the crowd, her smile visible even from the hundreds of meters of distance between them, though Pluto was only amused by this.

She became perfectly still as Mars stopped before her, her long black hair gleaming in the dazzling artificial light, a cocky expression upon her face. "Scared, Pluto?" she asked through unmoving lips, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

Pluto smirked at her opponent, a rare display of emotion. "Do you really want me to answer that question?" she retorted, matching Mars' skill effortlessly, tossing her long jade hair out of her face. Her comment only fuelled Mars' pigheadedness.

"Fight!" declared Queen Serenity, and Pluto instantly blocked out the insane approval of the crowd, her features twisting with concentration as she tensed very slightly, her grip tightening on Garnet Rod, ready to swing it at a moment's notice, which presented itself almost immediately; with a cry of something bizarrely like enjoyment, Mars flung herself forwards, twisting herself around so that she was flying forwards feet-first, but Pluto, above being hit by such a ridiculous attack, merely stepped to her right, allowing the Soldier of Fire to fly past her, her eyes widening in surprise as she realized she had missed. Pluto turned slowly, having no cause to rush, just in time to see Mars roll onto her side as she landed heavily on the sandy ground, springing upwards with alarming speed and whirling around to face her. Pluto's amused smile vanished in favour of an expression of wide-eyed horror as her opponent flung one hand above her head and drew a circle of fire around herself, shouting, "MARS CELESTIAL -"

"I don't think so!" snarled Pluto, dashing forwards and swinging her Garnet Orb through the air as effortlessly as though it were a feather, slamming its white marble butt into Mars' hands with crushing force, causing her to cry out in pain and staggering backwards and effectively vanishing her circle of flame. Anger flashed through her opponent's eyes, and with an outraged cry she flung herself forwards, her hands reduced to silken white blurs as she lashed out in vicious punches, aiming for the Guardian of Time's head, but she easily blocked each one, either sashaying out of Mars' reach or knocking her limbs out of the air in front of her head with her staff. After a dozen failed attempts to land on punch on her, Mars gave a frustrated cry and, more out of temper than anything, front-kicked Pluto in the stomach, something that caught the Outer Scout off guard and sending her staggering backwards, her air rushing out of her lungs in a huff. Her opponent capitalized on her temporary incapacitation by leaping impossibly high into the air and bringing one hand over her shoulder in a karate chop-style attack, a move that would have knocked her unconscious had she not forced her Garnet Rod horizontally above her face to block the blow. With a sickening sound of flesh ramming into something mercilessly unforgiving, the side of the Inner Scout's hand collided with her staff, and Pluto felt the painful vibrations resulting from the impact running through her weapon's toughened marble surface. The two of them stood there for a moment, both pressing back against their opponent with as much force as they could muster, narrowed eyes locked onto the other's, neither willing to relent. In a fit of frustration, Mars lashed out in a hard kick, but Pluto, who had been expecting something of the sort, threw her Garnet Rod high into the air and forced herself backwards into a bridge, sucking in her stomach as Mars' foot lashed out overhead. As soon as she followed through from her kick, Pluto gave a snarl of concentration and heaved herself backwards, her dark green, almost black boot catching her adversary sharply under the chin.

"Gah!" cried Mars, staggering backwards, and Pluto rounded sharply out of her back flip, landing upright so quickly that she was able to catch her marble staff before it hit the ground. She immediately zeroed in on Mars, who spat out a mouthful of blood before fixing her furious gaze upon the Guardian of Time, and they stared at each other for a moment before the Soldier of Fire plunged her hand into her skirt and withdrew, incredibly, a strip of white paper marked with inked-in black symbols.

"EVIL SPIRIT, BE _GONE!" _she shouted, hurling the spell at Pluto, who blinked in a bewildered sort of way, incredulous that anyone could have regarded her as an evil spirit. The paper hit her squarely in the face, obscuring her vision, and the moment it made contact with her, she gave a tiny gasp of horror as she realized the real point of throwing the simple spell at her.

She whipped her hand up to her face and tore the paper off of her, crumpling it as she did so, but it was too late; Mars had capitalized on her successful distraction by completing the circle of flame she had tried to draw before, and she clasped her hands in front of her face, her two index fingers pressed together, and the circle of flame morphed into eight fiery circles, each engraved with deepest black symbols that circled around her form before the Soldier of Fire shouted, "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"

With a deafening cackle, the circles of fire shot forwards, reduced to burning orange streaks for the speed they were flying at, and in a vain attempt to protect herself, Pluto twirled her Garnet Rod above her head and made to slam it onto the ground in front of her, but unfortunately for her, raising her arms was perhaps the worst mistake she could have made. Eight streaks of blazing inferno slammed into her with the force of an atomic bomb exploding, and was about just as damaging; excruciating pain threatened to tear her from limb to limb as she was blasted off her feet, fire savaging her form, singing her hair and uniform and covering every inch of her exposed skin with angry red burns and soot. A blood-curdling scream of pain was wrenched from her lips as she writhed and twisted, surrounding by a burning cocoon of agony that refused to disperse, and she landed hard on the ground in a tortured heap, shuddering violently, every inch of her screaming in pain-

After what seemed like years, the fire around her dispersed, and Pluto, being the warrior she was, leapt to her feet, shaking her head to clear the pained confusion that had settled upon her mind like a fog, her dark red eyes roving wildly about for Mars, and she was just in time to see her opponent slam into her with bone-breaking force, a savage cry escaping her lips.

"What the -?" Pluto gasped as she toppled over backwards, tumbling to the ground, pinned against the sand by Mars' body weight. She had dropped her Garnet Rod when Mars' Celestial Fire had slammed into her, and so she was reluctantly forced to use her hands to try to shove her enemy off, but she was too slow; Mars' gloved hand lashed out of nowhere, and with a crack of noise, the Soldier of Fire slapped her across the face, the force of the blow causing her to suffer mild whiplash as her head rolled to the other side.

"Hot enough for you, Pluto?" demanded the Inner Scout, her face blazing with battle-induced rage, drawing back her fist for another blow. Pluto gave an exasperated gasp, gingerly touching the place where her cheek was throbbing angrily with the tips of her fingers, but her incredulity promptly turned to rage, and with a positive scream of fury, she caught Mars' clenched fists with both her hands, and with strength that would have made Uranus proud, she yanked her legs out from underneath her opponent and, grunting with effort, flung her off of her by kicking her hard in the stomach and throwing her skywards. She used the Inner Scout's shocked expression as the incentive for what she did next, which was to leap to her feet and then jump impossibly high after Mars, the world reduced to a streaking blur of colour as she twisted upside-down, and she drew her knees into her chest before snapping them back into position in the form of a crushing kick that caught her foe hard in the chest. She felt at least one rib crack.

Mars' scream of pain trailed behind her as Pluto plummeted back to the ground, corkscrewing herself and landing in a tense crouch in the same spot she had jumped off of, her arms stretched out like the wings of an airplane. A dull thud sounded several yards away from her, telling her Mars had fallen back to the ground, and as if this were the signal she had been waiting for, the Guardian of Time leapt to her feet and sprinted towards her Garnet Rod, the ruby red gem that was the orb affixed to its top glowing brightly, marking its place.

"NO!" Mars cried a mixture of frustration and pain as she realized what Pluto was doing.

"Yes," Pluto hissed, too quietly for Mars to hear as she skidded to a halt just in front of her weapon, and in a single fluid motion, she snatched it up and whirled back around to face Mars, who she was dismayed to see seemed to have recovered from her kick in the chest and was running forwards as fast as she could her black hair flying about her face, as ominous as a storm cloud.

"MARS FIREBIRD _STRIKE_!" shouted the Soldier of Fire, her hands forming a gun-shape in front of her, and out of her finger tips burst a twisting column of flame that rocketed forwards at a blinding speed, and when it reached the midway point between its creator and Pluto, it morphed into a massive flaming bird, emitting an almost musical cry of rage from its titanic beak, pupilless eyes burning with a rage that was a hundred times greater than that which burned in its creator's eyes-

Pluto, however, was not about to suffer another assault at the hands of Mars, twirling her Garnet Rod above her head, she slammed it down upon the ground before her with a gong-like boom, shouting, "GARNET BALL!" and, with an uneartheal scream that sounded like a choir of the undead screaming, a blood red sphere of light exploded out of her Garnet Orb, forming a protective force field between herself and Mars' attack, which slammed into the barrier in a supernova-class explosion of noise, one that the flaming bird did not survive; Mars' outraged scream of denial was lost as her firebird vanished in a flash of fire and a flurry of sparks, and about a second later, Pluto's Garnet Ball flickered and died.

The Guardian of Time was merciless; slashing her staff through the air, she closed her eyes as a mass of swirling wind appeared around her, shielding her from view as it rose up in a towering column around her. "Pluto Deadly Scream," she whispered, letting her eyes slide open, and with a graceful twirl she banished the wind that had surrounded her, which converged into her Garnet Orb and exploded out of it less than a second later in the form of a glowing violently purple sphere that was accompanied by a blood-curdling scream of a hundred undead souls shrieking their displeasure.

The orb had grown to ten times its original size as it slammed into Mars, and Pluto was mildly surprised that the Inner Scout did not vanish in an explosion of sparks, which, in her opinion, would have been preferable to the undoubtable agony that was tearing through her at the moment. Sailor Mars flew so far that she would have continued on into the audience if not for the bolts of jagged lavender that burst into existence the moment Mars drew level with the wall of the arena. For a split second, a dome of lavender energy appeared over the arena, shielding the audience from view, and with a gong-like boom she slammed into its curving surface, toppling downwards in a limp heap, but then it was gone, and everything had returned to complete normality.

As she watched Mars' limp form tumbling back down to the ground, Pluto's vision suddenly tunnelled, and she felt as though she had been pushed hard from behind, regaining her balance an instant later, but when she raised her head, she was no longer standing in the stadium in the Moon Kingdom, but in a sort of alternate dimensional outer space, with a shadowy figure standing before her, only its head visible, but even that had been obscured by an ancient, ragged-looking grey hooded robe, its glowing red eyes the only thing visible.

"Beware, Sailor Pluto," snarled the figure, its raspy voice like shattered ice, sending freezing tendrils of fear running up her spine. "For all that you know is about to change."

And then the figure had vanished, returning her to the arena, disorientation threatening to overwhelm her. The world seemed to pulse, and with a little gasp of surprise, Pluto staggered backwards, her head spinning, heart pounding painfully in her ears. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone running towards her, a malicious air emanating out from them, fury etched upon their face, and, thinking that it was the mysterious figure she had envisioned, Pluto whipped around, outraged denial twisting her face into a frightening mask, and she slashed her Garnet Rod through the air, screaming, "PLUTO DEADLY _SCREAM!"_

The force of her voice, the amount of power she summoned forth for her attack, made the purple orb that exploded from her staff transform from devastating to deadly, and only after it had slammed into her attacker, who vanished in an explosion of green orbs, did she realize that she had just attacked Sailor Mars.

"NO!" she screamed, her eyes widening in horror, unable to comprehend why the people that surrounded her from every side were cheering when she had just savaged her friend with an attack that had been meant for a real enemy-

Suddenly, she was no longer standing in the center of the arena, but under the cover of the participant's level of the stadium, surrounded by Sailor Soldiers, all of whom were clapping enthusiastically, just as impressed as the fans that had been screaming their approval down at her.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Uranus shouted, clapping her on the shoulder.

"Nice work, Pluto," Jupiter admitted, smiling in a slightly shell-shocked way. "Couldn't have done it better myself."

"Yay, Luna-P!" shouted Mini Moon, elbowing her way to the front of the crowd and dancing up and down, looking ecstatic.

Pluto felt sick, hot bile travelling up her throat, feeling like she was about to faint. Though none of the Inner Scouts noticed the change in her state of her mind, Uranus' smile vanished, replaced by a look of shrouded concern, while Neptune froze in mid-clap, her ocean blue eyes widening in surprise, and Saturn staggered backwards, her violet eyes locking onto Pluto's half-closed red ones, but she managed to disguise this by forcing a laugh and explaining to Sailor Mercury that she had merely lost her balance.

"Well done, Pluto," Serenity murmured, walking in from the balcony, Sailor Mars following her, looking rather unsteady, though there was no trace of a scratch on her. Serena, Mercury and Venus rushed forwards and converged around their fellow Inner Scout, concern etched upon their faces, but Mars shook her head moodily and waved them away.

Pluto forced herself to ignore the feelings of shame that were threatening to overcome her and nodded once at Serenity, forcing a small, grateful smile upon her face, and murmured through unmoving lips, "Thank you."

Serenity nodded once and turned away striding away from the group of Soldiers and muttering to herself, while Sailor Moon followed, chattering happily to her mother about the battles, and Mercury, Jupiter and Venus followed her, all discussing their individual fights. Uranus, Neptune and Saturn withdrew from Pluto, knowing that she would tell them what was troubling in when she had made sense of it herself, and the Guardian of Time swallowed once before approaching Mars, who had deposited herself on one of the dozens of black couches placed strategically around the room, looking disgruntled.

"Mars," she murmured, keeping her voice deliberately soft, hoping it would give her the right impression. "I'm so sorry – really, I didn't mean -"

"I don't need your pity, Pluto," snapped Mars, her voice harsh, a vein pulsing in her temple as she folded her arms across her chest and glared up at her, anger passing across her face like a flame. "You beat me, fair and square." She snorted the last three words, and her tone indicated that she thought the way she had won had been anything but fair.

Grimacing in a pained sort of way, Pluto pressed on, hoping that the urgency in her voice would thaw the Soldier of Fire out. "Listen, when we were battling just now...towards the end, did you get a sort of...vision? Of -"

"If you're seeing things, maybe you should drop out of the competition," Mars suggested, turning away from Pluto and holding her head up high, determined to be in a bad mood. "I think the stress is getting to you."

Pluto gave an infinitesimal shake of her head, wishing that she had not been facing off with such a proud opponent, but she decided that Mars had really not seen anything during their battle and gave her up as a bad job. Getting slowly to her feet, she turned and walked towards her fellow Outer Scouts, motioning for them to move into a corner, her expression grim, mind far away, thinking of the frightening person she had seen in her vision.

_All that I know is about to change, _she realized, and an emotion she was unaccustomed to, something she identified as helplessness coursed through her. _And there is absolutely nothing I can do about it._


	4. Round 2

"Alright, everyone," Queen Serenity announced, turning to face the Sailor Soldiers assembled before her. Silence was immediate as everyone realized that she had determined the matchups for Round Two, and every eye was fixed upon her, nervous excitement filling the air. "If I could have your attention please, I need you to come out onto the balcony with me."

As one, Serena, Rini, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn stood up, the five who had qualified for the next round exchanging nervous looks.

"Ya jealous, Serena?" Mini Moon demanded, tugging on Sailor Moon's skirt. The Moon Princess opened her mouth furiously to respond, but Mars beat her to it.

"Oh, shut up, Rini," she grumbled, and her voice was so dangerous that not only Mini Moon dared to respond. Clearly, the Soldier of Fire was still angry about how Pluto had beaten her.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Serenity cried, and this time the Scouts were prepared for the change in volume of her voice. "After an excitement-filled first round, I think all of our Sailor Soldiers deserve a round of applause."

Immediately, the audience burst into applause, calling out bits of encouragement to their favourite Soldiers, waving the banners displaying the planetary signs of their home worlds or bearing the faces of their planet's champion. Serenity smiled broadly but raised her palms up high, signalling for silence.

"But as with all things in life, disappointment cannot be avoided. Our number has been reduced to half its original size, and in case any of you have forgotten, here are the five who will be participating in Round Two!"

On the massive screen floating above them, which had been displaying the words, "Winner: Sailor Pluto!" the title _Combatants _appeared in capitalized white letters. Underneath this, a picture of Sailor Mini Moon appeared, her Moon Rod in hand, a look of childish fury upon her face. As the crowd burst into rowdy cheers, Mini Moon hopped up and down, having been shunted to the back of the group, whining, "I can't see, I can't see!"

Now Sailor Mercury had had appeared beside Mini Moon on the monitor, in the act of initiating a Shine Aqua Illusion. The crowd began to cheer louder than they had for Mini Moon, and Mercury's cheeks flooded with colour as she waved to the crowd. Next, Uranus appeared, looking coolly unintimidated, her Space Sword in hand, arms folded across her chest. The applause turned thunderous, broken by many chants of the audience member's own creation, and the Soldier of the Sky could not help but smile.

Venus appeared beside Uranus, her face frozen in a silent shout, her Love Chain spiralling around her form; the applause, which, seemingly impossibly, had gotten even louder, now mingled with heated shouts from her admirers, but Venus, unlike before, did not showboat; she merely acknowledged the audience's approval with a modest nod. Sailor Pluto appeared beside her, her long green hair flying about her face as she held her Garnet Rod across her body, its gem glowing with power. The cheers grew so thunderous that the balcony that they had all crowded onto shuddered from the force of it, causing both Serena and Rini to give cries of alarm and to scamper back inside.

"Hmph," Mars muttered, irritably tossing her head and striding after them, clearly unable to stand any more of Pluto.

It took a full minute for the crowd to stop cheering, and Serenity only succeeded in recapturing their attention by sending a flare rocketing up towards the sky from out of her own Moon Rod, exploding with an uneartheal scream that was not unlike Pluto's Deadly Scream. Silence was immediate, and several of the Soldiers could not keep themselves from laughing.

"And now, People of the Solar System, I have a task for you; since an uneven number of contestants have moved on, I have deemed that it should be up to you to decide who gets a free pass to Round Three."

There was a beat of stunned silence, and then Serenity burst back into speech, clearly fearing another standing ovation. "The best way to do this is to send up fireworks bearing the colours that represent the contestants; pink for Sailor Mini Moon, blue for Sailor Mercury, topaz for Sailor Uranus, gold for Sailor Venus and black for Sailor Pluto. Now, if I could have those all in favour of Sailor Mini Moon please -"

An explosion of sound cut the Queen off, for an armada of pink streaks had appeared, all rocketing towards the heavens. Serenity stared intently at the fireworks, and how she was able to count them was anyone's guess, but eventually she nodded to herself and called, "For Sailor Mercury!"

Pink was replaced with cyan blue, lighting up the sky like those that decorated the heavens during one of the royal family members' birthdays. No one could tell if the number of votes for Mercury had exceeded Mini Moon's, and before anyone could even begin to fathom the number of votes either of them had collected, Serenity had cried, "For Sailor Uranus!"

At this, the entire sky became obscured by a mass of streaking topaz, outstripping the number of votes for Mercury and Mini Moon put together. Saturn rolled her eyes, mocking unamusement, while Neptune tittered and Venus laughed. "Sailor Venus!" shouted Queen Serenity, and to the Inner Scouts' pleased surprise, the number of golden fireworks marked Uranus' with ease.

"Looks like you've got some competition, eh, Uranus?" Mercury asked playfully, and the Soldier of the Sky shook her head, smiling wordlessly.

"For Sailor Pluto!" cried Serenity, and with a positive explosion of noise, the sky was filled to the bursting with onyx streaks, making it look like a storm cloud had descended upon the arena. Every Soldiers' head turned in the direction of the Guardian of Time, whose stunned face reflected the streaks of colour that represented at least a thousand votes; clearly, the crowd was still pumped with adrenaline at her fight.

"The clear winner!" cried Queen Serenity, though she was not sure if the crowd heard her. Nevertheless, she ploughed on. "The match ups for Round Two will be determined shortly."

Serenity turned back around and nodded, motioning for the warriors to make their way back inside.

"So," Uranus said, punching Pluto on the arm, mocking anger. "You think you're better than me?"

"It's not a question of thinking," Pluto murmured, though her dark red eyes were dancing with laughter. "But of knowing."

"Hmm," Serena said, walking towards the rest of the group. "Well, let's see if you're so cocky after you see everyone battle."

"Looks like someone's picking favourites," Jupiter observed with a laugh. "What gives, Serena?"

Sailor Moon dropped her lip, like a child caught in wrongdoing. "I've been thinking about who has the best chance of beating Rini, and I've decided that it's Uranus." A slightly pained look came into the Moon Princess' eye as she looked pleadingly at the leader of the Outer Scouts. "If she manages to win this thing, she's _never _gonna let me live this down."

"The fabled Moon Princess, asking for help," Neptune said, shaking her head and clucking her tongue. "My oh my, I never thought I'd see the day. Isn't this against some sort of rule?"

Everyone burst into laughter except Mini Moon and Mars, who seemed to have formed a bond borne out of anger after the Soldier of Fire's defeat. Everyone dissolved into pairs, the excitement almost tangible as it buzzed through the air in the form of anticipating chatter, each eliminated Soldier discussing who they thought was most likely to advance to the third round.

"Uranus and Mercury," Jupiter confided to Serena, winking in a sort of way that warned her not to tell anyone she had said that.

"It's gotta be Venus," Saturn whispered to Neptune. "I mean – no offense – but she kinda dismantled you."

The remark earned the Messiah of Silence a sharp slap on the back of her head, and it was a mark of their friendship that she did not attack her with her Silence Glaive.

"Cheer up, Sailor Mars," Mini Moon whispered sadly, clearly uncomfortable in the presence of constant gloom. "It's just a game. It doesn't matter, not really."

Sailor Mars' stony expression softened when she realized Rini was being honest. "I know," she admitted finally, sighing softly. "But it's just...well, it didn't really seem _fair."_

"At least you didn't get beaten by Serena," Mini Moon said with a wink. "I don't think you'd be able to live that down. Come on, Pluto's gotta be one of the top three toughest Soldiers there are. No one really has a chance against her."

"And what's _that _supposed to mean?" Venus demanded, having been eavesdropping on their conversation and sending a mockingly outraged glare Rini's way. Before Small Lady could respond, Serenity's magically magnified voice sounded from the balcony, silencing them.

"Thank you for your patience, everyone; if you could please direct your attention to the monitor above you, I have determined the match-ups for the second round."

Immediately, everyone turned to stare intently at the small screens nearest them, faces rapt with attention.

'_Round Two,' _read the screen in bright cyan letters, waiting for Serenity to speak. The Queen cleared her throat, then spread her arms wide, her smile infectious as she declared, "Sailor Mercury will be facing off against Sailor Venus!"

The crowd exploded into life, stamping their feet and whistling shrilly, the supporters of Venus and Mercury loudest of all. The two Inner Scouts exchanged sceptical grins, sizing each other up as they adjusted their points of view on each other from friends to opponents.

"Oh no," whispered Mini Moon, her face draining of all colour as she realized something, her dark red eyes widening in horror. "But that means-"

"I am going to enjoy this," Sailor Moon whispered, cracking her knuckles as she fixed her daughter with a malevolent glare.

"Sailor Mini Moon will be facing off with Sailor Uranus!" Serenity announced in a voice trembling with delight, and appreciative whoops punctuated the explosion of approval that took place from the stands. Sailors Moon, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Saturn and Pluto all burst into laughter as they took in the expression on Mini Moon's face, for at least half the group believed that Mini Moon was about to get what she had coming to her.

"What's the matter, squirt?" Uranus called, her voice shaking with laughter as she elbowed her way to the front of the Soldiers in an excellent imitation of Rini. "Scared ya might not be able to live down how bad I beat you?"

"SERENITY!" wailed Sailor Mini Moon as the Queen emerged from the balcony, a bewildered expression upon her face at the shrillness of the Scout's voice. Yowling with sorrow, Rini leapt off the couch and sprinted towards the ruler of the Moon Kingdom, throwing her arms around the skirt of her flowing white dress and shrieking her displeasure. "You _can't _make me face off with Uranus, please oh please oh _please! _I-I'm just a l-little kid, Serenity, a-and she's a...a teenager! Look at how tall she is! _Look at what she did to Jupiter!"_

Serenity seemed unsure as to whether she was supposed to laugh or not. Everyone's laughter was silenced as they took in the desperation of Rini's voice, and those – particularly the Inner Scouts – who had been somewhat spiteful of the youngest of the Soldiers exchanged worried looks, thinking that she really was afraid of Uranus.

"Oh, _please," _Uranus said in a carrying whisper, while Serenity bit her lip and stared intently down at the sobbing girl hugging her. Neptune shook her head, looking appalled.

"She can't be serious," whispered her companion, raising her eyebrows.

"_MOTHER!" _shrieked Serena, her voice so shrill that it was bordering on silent. "This is – you _can't – _she's LYING! She isn't afraid of Uranus at _all! _They're practically best friends! And do you _honestly _think she'd go hard on a little brat like her? She's barely out of diapers!"

"Enough, Serena," whispered Serenity, and the Moon Princess was horrified to see the conviction glimmering in her mother's eyes as she gazed down at the future heir to the throne with a tender expression on her face. Behind the Queen, Jupiter and Mars were miming vomiting, and Saturn gave a snort of laughter that she managed to pass off as a gasp of pain as she dropped her Silence Glaive on her foot. "Mini Moon, I see your point. I guess that just means we'll have to -" the Queen waved one hand through the air beside her head and caused two of the four participants to vanish, leaving only half-formed cries of protest behind them. "-switch it up."

"Doesn't that ever get old with you?" Sailor Moon asked in a bemused sort of way.

"Never," Serenity said, laughing to herself.

**Round 2 A**

_Oh man, _Sailor Mini Moon thought to herself, her heart pounding in terror as she stared up at her opponent. _How am I ever gonna beat her?_

Unlike the last round, there was no dramatic entry or long walk towards the center of the arena; Serenity had teleported them straight to the center of the arena, and what was more, the Inner Scout before her looked twice as frightening now, bathed in the blinding artificial lights that shone down at them from every angle.

"Sure you aren't in over your head, Rini?" her opponent asked with a wink. This was not a friendly wink. It was the type of wink you flashed at your worst enemy before punching them in the face. Mini Moon gulped in apprehension, her mouth too dry to speak.

"I beg your pardon, ladies and gentlemen," Serenity informed the crowd in her booming voice. "For any inconvenience or confusion you may be having right now. The match ups have been switched, due to a...ah, crisis of sorts." At this the Soldier before her smiled evilly down at her, and Rini nearly ran for it then and there.

"May I present to you, Sailor Mini Moon, and her challenger, Sailor Venus!" cried Queen Serenity, and the stadium burst into applause, whistles and hoots and chants of the audience's composing assaulting the ears of the two in the middle.

"Uh oh," Mini Moon whispered, her stomach dropping down through the floor as she took in the taunting smile upon the leader of the Inner Scouts' face. "Venus? Y-you'll go easy on me right?"

Venus' smile widened, stretching from ear to ear, no trace of a bluff detectable in her eyes. "Not a chance," she told her through unmoving lips, and anger flared in Rini's stomach, banishing her uneasiness as she realized that she would have to rely purely on skill to win this battle.

"Let the battle..._BEGIN!" _cried Queen Serenity, and with an outraged cry Mini Moon sprinted forwards, drawing one hand over her shoulder, Luna-P a streaking robotic blur at her side.

"Take _this!" _she shouted, ramming her fist into Venus' stomach, but to her horror, she merely punched open air, while a hand pressed itself against her forehead, causing her to skid to a halt, running on the spot. "Huh?" she said, her eyes crossing as she looked up, only to see Venus glaring down at her, a vicious snarl of a smile fixed upon her face.

"Nighty night, Rini," the Soldier of Love hissed, and so quickly she wasn't sure how it happened, Mini Moon found herself collapsed in an upside-down heap upon the ground some fifteen feet away, her entire torso aching as if a flaming whip had slashed her across the front.

A vein pulsing in her temple, Mini Moon twisted into sitting position and leapt to her feet, clenching her fists and practically spitting fire as she glared at Venus, who winked roguishly and fluttered her fingers mockingly at her. "Maybe you should take a break?" suggested the Soldier of Love, and this, more than anything, was the spark that ignited Rini's fury; with a cry of rage, she snatched Luna-P out of the air and began to bounce her forcibly upon the ground like a basketball, running in circles as she shouted, "KITTY POWER!"

Immediately, the cat head slid open with a pneumatic hiss, and a thick cloud of choking white smoke emanated out of it, causing Venus to be engulfed inside it, coughing violently. Out of the robotic head floated a large wooden slingshot, already loaded, and Mini Moon jumped high to snatch it out of the air, her eyes narrowed in concentration, and she pulled the elastic band back as far as it would go, until it groaned in protest, and with a cry she released the string, causing it to snap back into position with a sharp _twang! _and sending the perfectly circular rock it was loaded with rocketing forwards, speeding with lethal precision towards where Venus had just returned to view-

"OW!" shouted the Inner Scout as the rock hit her sharply on the forehead, causing her to stagger backwards several feet and clap a hand to her throbbing forehead.

"Ha!" yelled Mini Moon, tossing the slingshot high into the air and causing it to vanish in a flash of pink light. "Whose laughing now? Bet that'll teach you not to mess with the power of -"

"VENUS!" the Soldier of Love shouted, glaring at Rini from one eye as she put one hand to her lips, and as she blew a kiss a large golden heart pulsated into existence. "LOVE AND BEAUTY _SHOCK!"_

She hurled the heart forwards, and it multiplied into several dozen of itself, rocketing towards Mini Moon in a deadly circle. The heir to the throne screamed in alarm as the fleet slammed into her, the force of the attack blasting her off her feet and sending her flying backwards in a writhing heap, her cries of pain trailing behind her. She crash-landed some fifty feet away from Venus in an aching mass of limbs, bones screaming in protest as she found herself splayed upon the ground for the second time in so many seconds. Shuddering violently, Mini Moon pushed herself to her feet, gripping her right arm tightly with one hand, dark red eyes watering with pain. _I'm done playing fair, _she thought, as a plan, borne out of the tears pooling in her eyes, sprung into her mind. With a heart-wrenching wail, she threw herself onto the ground, curling herself into a tight ball and rolling end over end, being careful to conceal her expression from Venus, who gasped in alarm and, judging by the pounding footsteps that were sounding from in front of her, sprinting forwards.

"VENUS, NO!" shouted Serena, enraged that her friend was about to walk into the exact same trap she had fallen into. But she may as well have been calling to her from across the universe; the Inner Scout had been deafened by the roar of the crowd and the horror of making a six year-old cry, and in less than two seconds she was at Rini's side, her eyes huge.

"Oh man, Rini, are you okay?" she whispered, seizing her by the shoulders to stop her from rolling around. Mini Moon bit back a smile, managing to disguise it as quivering lips. Clenching her eyes shut, she whispered, "V-Venus? Can I t-tell you...something?"

"Of course," said the Inner Scout, leaning forwards, cocking her head to the side so that she could whisper in her ear. _Sucker, _Rini thought, and her eyes snapped open as she produced her Moon Rod from nowhere, shouting, "PINK SUGAR HEART -"

"I don't think so!" Venus yelled, causing Mini Moon to freeze in mid-shout. "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"

Suddenly, a burning chain of interlocked hearts had wrapped itself around her, and Rini gave a scream of mingling bewilderment and pain as Venus tugged hard on her end of her Love Chain, yanking her to her feet.

"I don't understand!" Mini Moon gasped, her eyes huge, voice cracked with horror. "How did you -?"

"It doesn't pay to lie, Rini," chided Venus, wagging a mocking finger at her. "Your mother may have fallen for it, but there's no way will." And with that, she began to spin her chain around like a lasso, waving it above her head, twirling on the spot to build up momentum. Screaming in fear, Mini Moon writhed and twisted, kicking her legs in a fruitless attempt to slide free of the chain-

With a cry of "Htcha!" Venus released the rope like an Olympian in a hammer throw event, and the dizzy Rini had no idea which way was up or down as she flew through the air, tumbling head over heels, her body still being assaulted by the sparks that were flying from Venus' Love Chain.

"Woah!" she cried as she collided with the ground, so forcefully that she formed a shallow crater. Upon impact, the chain dissolved from around her, but the pain did not leave her. Before she had time to do more than sit up, Mini Moon found herself pinned face-down to the ground, one arm twisted police-to-fugitive style by Venus, her body weight rendering her completely helpless.

"Lemme go!" she demanded, struggling fruitlessly. "This isn't fair!"

"Not a chance," snarled Venus, gripping her arm tighter. "I owe this to your mother."

Rini knew defeat when it was staring her straight in the face. _Nothing is worth this, _she thought, as jeering laughs emanated down from the ample amount of bystanders. _I give up!_

Wrenching one arm out from underneath Venus, Mini Moon reached towards her robotic cat head with a shaking hand, summoning every last ounce of her strength to reach it. "LUNA-P!" she cried, snatching the cat head out of the air and bouncing it upon the ground. "KITTY POWER!"

As the cat head vanished in a puff of smoke, a white handkerchief appeared, floating gracefully out of the air into her outstretched hand. Waving it frantically above her head, she shouted, "I GIVE UP, I GIVE UP! JUST LEMME GO! I GIVE UP!"

No sooner hand she shouted the last word than Venus' body weight disappeared from above her, and Mini Moon found herself sitting upon a cold metal floor, blinking in bewilderment at this abrupt change in surroundings, surrounded by Sailor Soldiers.

"Smooth moves, squirt," Uranus applauded her, clapping her mockingly on the shoulder.

"Yeah," laughed Mercury, winking at the youngest of their group. "I'm almost sorry to see it end."

"Nanananana!" taunted Sailor Moon, wiggling her fingers at her and sticking her tongue out. "Betcha wish you hadn't beaten me now, eh Rini? I wonder how long it'lll take _you _to live that down?"

"ARGH!" shouted Mini Moon, leaping to her feet and starting towards Serena, her fists clenched, Moon Rod in hand, but someone ten times stronger than she caught her arm, pulling her to a halt.

"Cool it, Small Lady," murmured Pluto, her mysterious voice reproachful. "You can't say you don't deserve this."

At that, everyone burst into laughter, and Mini Moon wrenched her arm out of Pluto's grip, making to stalk towards one of the couches, but she was stopped by Queen Serenity, whose smile was so wide that the dim lighting of the dim lighting reflected off her even white teeth. "Bravo, Rini," she applauded her mockingly. "Are you sure switching opponents was a good idea?"

Before she could respond, Venus stepped out from behind the Queen, her expression so smug it was bordering on illegal. Winking cockily down at her, she asked, "You alright there, Small Lady?" twisting her title into an insult.

"_Oooh!" _fumed Mini Moon, folding her arms across her chest and actually stamping her foot with anger. "You wait! I'll get you back for this!"

Venus laughed openly. "You've gotta be joking me," She said, her long blonde hair trailing out behind her as she walked towards the rest of the Sailor Soldiers.

_I never joke, _Rini thought venomously. _And you'll know that soon enough._

**Round 2 B**

Mercury could not deny it; she was absolutely terrified.

At least facing off with Venus would have been an equally-matched battle, for they both knew each other's fighting styles so well they could have switched bodies and done them perfectly. But the Outer Scouts were all stronger than the Inner Scouts – it was impossible to deny. Yes, she had beaten Saturn, but had the Messiah of Silence been allowed to use her Silence Glaive, the match would have been over before it began. Uranus had no limitations on what attacks she was allowed to use and was the strongest of all of them when it came to close-quarters combat. And now, standing underneath the blinding artificial lights of the stadium with the roaring of a thousand adrenaline-pumped fans in her ears, facing elimination, Sailor Uranus looked ten times more intimidating than before, her Space Sword in hand, a superior smile upon her face, the expression of someone invincible.

"FIGHT!" shouted Queen Serenity, and though the crowd went insane, Mercury was deaf to it, her attention focused solely upon the Soldier before her. As in both their previous battles, the two began to circle each other in perfect unison, retaining an exact amount of space between themselves, their steps perfectly choreographed. Both Sailors' eyes were locked onto their opponents, daring them to attack, and Mercury promptly forgot her fear, realizing that it was a handicap she did not need.

_I beat Saturn, _she told herself, and confidence ignited inside her. _If I can knock out one of the most powerful Sailor Soldiers there are, I can certainly take Uranus to town._

She paid for this distraction by being caught off guard when Uranus, sensing weakness, dashed forwards, lashing out in a crushing hook punch. Mercury gave a bewildered cry and dashed out of harm's way, but was instantly forced to do a sort of mid-air splits to avoid having her legs knocked out from beneath her. Narrowing her eyes, she gave a cry of concentration and twisted around in an upside down kick, but Uranus blocked her attack with the side of her elbow, forcing her off balance. Mercury managed to land upright in a sort of splayed crouch, and her opponent, as merciless as everyone knew her to be, did not pause for breath; producing her gem-encrusted golden blade from out of nowhere, she gave a bull-like bellow and slashed the sword through the air, forcing Mercury to somersault to the side to avoid suffering a slashed throat.

Digging her heels into the sand to stop herself, Mercury whirled around, just in time to see Uranus' foot lash out from nowhere; it slammed into the side of her face with crushing force, sending her sprawling backwards, her cry of pain trailing behind her. Mercury landed hard on her back, spots of light bursting into existence before her eyes, but she forced herself to look past them, and with good reason; Uranus had jumped high into the air, one leg drawn up to her chest, the other extended as far as it would go, completely rigid, and, summoning all her strength, Mercury rolled onto her back and then snapped into standing position, kicking out furiously and knocking her opponent out of her way, but for all the good it did, she may as well have brandished a feather at the Soldier of the Sky; Uranus landed easily on the ground just in front of her, as though she had merely decided against her attack. They glared at each other for a split second, and then they burst into action, both of them initiating a mass of attacks that would have been lethal had either of them managed to land them; Mercury swung her fist forwards, aiming for Uranus' head, but she blocked it almost casually with her elbow. Growling, Mercury lashed out in an uppercut punch, but her foe caught her hand in her own, her eyes narrowing in concentration, and made to kick her hard in the stomach, but Mercury, anticipating this, yanked her hand out of Uranus' and jumped backwards to avoid the blow. She retaliated by initiating a roundhouse kick, but Uranus ducked out of her range and, with a cry of rage, sprinted forwards in an almost horizontal advance, her hand clenched, drawn over her shoulder, fury etched upon her face, but Mercury jumped high into the air, leapfrogging the Outer Scout and twisting around in a mid-air kick, though it almost came as expected when Uranus whipped around so fast that the air hissed, knocking her out of the air with enough force to fell a rhinoceros. Mercury landed hard on the ground in a splayed pile, her head throbbing as it collided with the hard sandy surface, but before she could do more than struggle to untangle her limbs, Uranus shouted, "SPACE SWORD BLASTER!" and with an impossible roar, there was a flash of golden air and the lethal whirling of something sinister rocketing forwards, and then something infinitely stronger than she had slammed into her straight in the face, blasting Mercury through the air in an agonized mass of writhing body parts, threatening to tear her limb from limb. The collision with the wall of the stadium was almost painless in comparison to the agony Uranus' attack had induced, and was almost completely absorbed by the shock that had overcome her, for the Inner Scout had only seen Uranus use the attack twice in her entire life, and had dared to hope that Serenity had warned her not to use it.

_Of course she didn't, _Mercury thought as she tumbled to the ground, moaning in pain. _Otherwise, I wouldn't have been attacked by it._

Shunting her pain to the back of her mind, she staggered to her feet, her whole body bruised and battered and shaking violently, teeth clenched against the discomfort, glaring about for Uranus, who was sprinting forwards, slashing her Space Sword experimentally through the air, a look of savage enjoyment upon her face.

"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!" shouted Mercury, twirling gracefully on the spot and slashing her hands through the air, and with an explosion of noise a mass of cyan water rocketed through the air, expanding and twisting as it charged towards Uranus, ice crystals glimmering inside it-

But somehow, impossibly, Uranus was able to avoid being frozen by slashing her golden dagger through the air, and in a flash of light, her attack rebounded off the blade and rocketed towards the crowd, which was protected by the same lavender barrier that had appeared to prevent Mars from rocketing out of the stadium.

"_What?" _Mercury gasped, blank with shock as she gaped at the place her attack had vanished.

"Too bad, kid," Uranus growled, and suddenly, lightning-fast, she had seized her arm and thrown her forcibly over her shoulder, flying so fast that she left an image of her bewildered self in the place she had vanished. Somehow, Mercury managed to land upright, teetering precariously on the spot as her boots hit the ground, but then an idea, either borne out of desperation or a sudden stroke of genius, suddenly formed in her mind, and she nearly slapped herself for not thinking of it before.

Whirling around, Mercury tapped the side of her head and caused her dark blue tinted energy scanner to appear over her eyes. Pulling out her minicomputer, the Soldier of Water tapped furiously upon it, her fingers reduced to gloved blurs, directing its attention at Uranus, who was running forwards once more, her speed unnerving her, willing her scanner to analyze her attack for some sort of pattern.

_There's gotta be a pattern. There's always a pattern, _she told herself desperately, but she was forced to abandon her pursuit when she realized her opponent was upon her once more. Mercury had long since adopted the double vision necessary to look at her scanner and simultaneously see past it to pay attention to what was going on in the real world, but it was almost impossible for her to stare past the mass of technological readouts displayed before her to see Uranus attacking her, and it did not help that the Outer Scout moved so fast that her limbs appeared blurred. Deciding that the best course of action would be to dodge, Mercury skipped lightly backwards every time Uranus got too close for comfort, ducking and dodging and sashaying back and forth in a deadly dance, knowing that she only had to hold out long enough for her scanner to devise some sort of counter-attack-

"Come on!" Uranus growled, sounding outraged as a particularly wild swipe missed Mercury by a long shot. "Check your emails later, damn it!"

At that precise moment, a satisfying beep sounded from both her minicomputer and scanner, telling her that they had succeeded in analyzing the Outer Scout's fighting style. A savage smile spreading across her face, Mercury blocked Uranus' uppercut punch with the side of her arm and immediately heaved herself backwards in a somersault kick that caught her adversary sharply under the chin, forcing her away from her. As Uranus spiralled away from her, yowling in outrage, Mercury landed in a tight crouch, turning her attention to her scanner. To her surprise, there was no maelstrom of bright yellow data clambering for her attention; on the contrary, her visor had lightened and cleared so that it looked like she was staring out of a particularly spotless sheet of glass, and the space five feet to her right was highlighted by a translucent emerald circle, miniscule letters reading, _Employ Aqua Rhapsody _hovering above it. Mercury did as she was told, knowing that the computer's advice would change the moment Uranus recovered from her kick; corkscrewing herself through the air, she landed in a tightly coiled half-crouch, shouting, "MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!"

A harp constructed of cyan blue water appeared in her outstretched hands, and Mercury caught it deftly, running her fingers easily through its taught strings, filling the air not with music, but with an ear-splitting roar that was several tonnes of magic-enhanced water crashing into existence, twisting and curling into monstrous waves that were zeroed in on the shocked Uranus-

"_Yes!" _Mercury hissed, triumphantly punching the air as her enemy was blasted off her feet, all but obscured by the positive tsunami she had unleashed upon her, yells barely audible over its roar. It took her a moment to realize that her scanner was trying to tell her something, and she abruptly adjusted her gaze to stare at the wafer-thin screen that was covering her eyes. It was currently urging her to sprint after Uranus, the letters CQC flashing in the right corner, meaning close-quarters combat, and underneath that was _Mercury Bubbles._

"If you say so," Mercury muttered, more for her benefit than anyone else's, and with that she sprinted forwards, her feet barely touching the ground, eyes fixed upon the place where Uranus had been deposited, her uniform positively drenched, shaking water from her hair. She looked up, however, when she heard Mercury approaching, and a snarl of fury twisted her lips as she took in the confidence etched upon her face. With a cat-like hiss, she tensed until her muscles looked like they would burst out of her skin and then flung herself forwards, clawed hands outstretched, by Mercury, not needing her scanner to tell her what to do, jumped out of Uranus's reach, twisting around in a mid-air back flip to keep her opponent in view, and she was stunned to see that she, too, had jumped into the air, in the act of punching her in the face. Acting purely on instinct, Mercury swatted her hand out of its path while rolling backwards through the air, so that as she began her descent back to the ground, she was on the Outer Scout's blind side. They landed on the ground at exactly the same time and, in perfect synchronization they both lashed out in hard twist kicks, their legs colliding with each other. Guided by her scanner, Mercury initiated a hook punch, a blow that Uranus tried to land at exactly the same time. Once again, their limbs collided, and a look of horror spread across her opponent's face, while a superior smile lit hers up. They continued like this, Mercury able to do the exact same attacks as Uranus at the precise same time, and on the rare occasion that Uranus managed to fool her scanner by switching attacks in mid-initiation or doing two different ones within split seconds of each other, Mercury blocked these.

After deflecting a particularly vicious kick that would have knocked her head off of her shoulders, Mercury caused Uranus to stagger backwards, and was overjoyed to see that her face was shining with sweat, her shoulders heaving as she gulped down shallow amounts of oxygen. "Since when did you get so good?" hissed the Outer Scout, shaking her head in bitter exasperation. Mercury did not respond, for her scanner had anticipated that this was just an attempt to distract her, and, once more, it proved to be right; quicker than the eye could see, Uranus plunged her hand into her skirt and whipped out her Space Sword, while she raised her other hand above her head, clenching it around the tiny orb of topaz light that had appeared above it. In less than a second, she had raised her sword above her head and slammed the fist that was clenched around the orb of light onto its handle, reducing the blade to naught but a dagger-shaped formation of light.

"SPACE SWORD BLA -"

"NO!" shouted Sailor Mercury, and, ignoring her scanner, she sprinted forwards and flung herself into a mid-air roundhouse kick, knocking Uranus' blade out of her hands. To her horror, however, a frightening smile lit the leader of the Outer Scouts' face, and she seized her arm in an unbreakable grip, hissing, "Bad move."

And with that ominous pronunciation, she pulled her scanner violently off her face and tossed it over her shoulder while yanking her minicomputer out of her hands and slamming it upon the ground, causing it to break in two.

"What the -" Mercury began, her eyes huge with fright, but Uranus cut her off, her voice bordering on deafening for the rage that fuelled her cry.

"URANUS WORLD _SHAKING!" _she shouted, slamming her orb of topaz light upon the ground before her so forcefully that the entire stadium shuddered, and their close quarters, coupled with the fact that her World Shaking was already lethal, blasted Mercury off her feet, and she landed, not at the other side of the stadium, but in a confused heap in the participants' level of the arena.

"Hell," Mercury completed, blinking in a stunned sort of way. For a first, there was no circle of Sailor Soldiers around her, for she had been KO'd so fast that they had not contemplated that she was out of the competition themselves, and by the time they realized she was no longer on the battlefield, Uranus had appeared, a ring of jade light exploding off her form.

"Damn it!" Mars cursed, preceding the others off the balcony and pulling Mercury to her feet.

"Bummer," Venus sighed, punching her lightly on the shoulder, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Are you _alright?" _Sailor Moon demanded, always the doctor, throwing her arms around her waist, sniffling softly.

"Yes, Uranus, _yes!" _cried Neptune, flinging herself at her fellow Outer Scout, joyous tears cascading down her face. Jupiter and Saturn exchanged exasperated looks and promptly burst into laughter, while Pluto shook her head in disapproval and Mini Moon gagged on the sandwich she had been eating.

"Well _done, _Soldiers!" Serenity cried, crossing gracefully towards the center of the room, positively beaming. In her hands she held the remains of Mercury's minicomputer and scanner, as well as her own Moon Rod, while emitted a flash of silvery white light, and when it dispersed, both contestants and pieces of technology had been completely mended.

"Thank you," murmured Mercury, pushing Serena off her and accepting her possessions, stuffing them moodily into her pocket, rolling her eyes as Uranus winked at her.

"Please, follow me out to the balcony, everyone," the Queen asked, motioning for them to follow her. Everyone but Mini Moon did so, for she was lurking shiftily in the shadows, and she was so small that no one noticed, or cared about, her absence.

"So ends another exciting round!" Serenity declared in her booming voice, and her announcement was met by deafening applause from the crowd assembled before her, the excitement increased by tenfold as each member sensed that the final battle was drawing ever nearer. "Five have become three, and allow me to present to you the Soldiers who remain in contention for an upgraded senshipen!"

The Queen paused, allowing the crowd to scream themselves hoarse, then with a majestic wave of her hand, caused three people to appear on the massive screen above them; Sailor Uranus, in the act of conjuring a World Shaking; Sailor Venus, her long blonde hair flying out behind her, immersed in a column of golden light as she prepared to summon a Meteor Strike, and Sailor Pluto, looking deadly powerful with her Garnet Rod slammed onto the ground before her, a force field of ruby energy ballooning in front of her.

"As everyone can see," Serenity shouted, barely making herself heard over the uproarious din the crowd was making. "We have an odd number on our hands once again. Sailor Pluto, who was voted into round three as fan favourite, will be competing in the semi final, but this time, it is the overall damage our other two contestants have suffered that will determine who her opponent is. Ladies and gentlemen, please keep your eyes on the screen above you."

The Sailor Soldiers exchanged excited looks before doing as they were told, none of them knowing if Venus or Uranus had suffered more damage. The images of the final three vanished, in favour of two names, _Sailor Venus _and _Sailor Uranus, _and underneath both were the words _Round One _and _Round Two. _The crowd went completely silent, taking a collective intake of breath as they waited for the statistics to show themselves. With barely audible beeps, the statistics for Round One presented themselves.

_Sailor Venus_

_88% damage_

_Sailor Uranus_

_56% damage_

The moment was too tense for the crowd to burst into applause; Venus and Uranus exchanged mocking looks before returning their attention to the screen above them. There was a beat of absolute silence, during which the air seemed to pulse, and then...


	5. The Semi Final

_Sailor Venus_

_2% damage_

_Sailor Uranus_

_78% damage_

The crowd, which was unable to do the math, was spared the struggle of figuring out who had racked up more damage by the appearance of a third statistic.

_Sailor Venus_

_45% overall damage_

_Sailor Uranus_

_67% overall damage_

The crowd exploded into life once more as they realized what this meant, the flags and banners bearing Sailor Venus' face and sign waving triumphantly from the sea of colour, the screams and cheers so loud that they hurt their ears. Venus' smile could not have been any smugger as she flashed a smile at Uranus, whose expression was unreadable as she glared at the screen hanging above them.

"Tough luck, Uranus," whispered Mars, and everyone but the Outer Scout laughed, though the corners of her mouth twitched.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the semi final has been determined!" announced Queen Serenity, her voice exploding with joy as she spoke. "Sailor Pluto and Sailor Uranus will battle to determine who will be going up against Sailor Venus! I ask for patience as the contestants take a short break."

With that, the party marched back inside, unable to make themselves heard over the uproarious din the crowd was making. Once the last of them had made it inside, Serenity turned and pulled the sliding metal door that she had forced open as wide as she could closed, causing most of the racket to be silenced. "Congratulations, Venus!" she murmured, clapping the Soldier of Love on the shoulder.

"Thanks," Venus grinned, winking at Uranus over the queen's shoulder. "Though it just goes to show, the better Soldier got the pass."

A vein pulsed in Uranus' temple as she glared at the Inner Scout. "Wait until after the final," she hissed, practically spitting fire at the taunt. "You won't be so cocky after I've smashed you down to size."

"What makes you think you'll make it that far?" Pluto asked, her soft, mysterious voice playful as she cast an almost pitying look at her leader.

"What makes you think she won't?" Jupiter demanded, and Mars and Serena cast her exasperated looks, incredulous at her support of Uranus.

"What if I stop time?" Pluto asked the group at large, to stunned silence.

"You'll die!" Uranus declared, outraged, the only one of the Soldiers to take the question seriously.

Pluto winked. "That's what you think."

Everyone laughed, though Uranus did so grudgingly. They promptly dissolved into twos and threes, chattering happily to each other, the tension temporarily gone; Jupiter and Mercury were sitting on one of the many couches, lamenting her defeat; Mars and Serena were, almost predictably, fighting, though no one was sure what about; Venus was walking towards the miniature fridge, muttering about wanting some water; Serenity was a little ways away from everyone else, her expression unreadable as she stared out the tinted windows and out at the crowd; Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, however, were discussing something in urgent tones, and judging by their expressions, they were not discussing the upcoming battle.

"Look at them," Jupiter said, punching Mercury lightly on the shoulder and nodding at the group of Outer Scouts, her eyes slightly narrowed. "Something's gotta be up."

"We've got a fat chance of finding out what it is," Mercury murmured through unmoving lips, wishing she knew how to lip read. "If our past has taught us anything, Uranus likes to keep things from us for as long as possible. At the very least."

Jupiter nodded absently, and at the same time, Sailor Moon gave a shriek of pain. She and Mercury whirled around, only to see that the Moon Princess and Mars were rolling around on the ground, the latter having pulled hard on one of Serena's trailing pigtails.

"Come on, guys," Jupiter said with a laugh, pulling the pair apart and restraining Sailor Moon, while Mercury held on to Mars with some difficulty. "Knock it off."

After several seconds, the pair deflated, and at Jupiter's insistence offered grudging apologies to each other. Sensing that they had both calmed down, the Soldier of Lightning released Serena, her gaze sliding around the participant's level and coming to rest on one of the most bizarre sights she had ever seen.

She had to hand it to Mini Moon; the kid had guts. She had obviously taken advantage of everyone else's distraction at the announcement of the matchup for the semi final and used it to position herself in a very uncomfortable position on the ceiling. She had her legs and one arm splayed in a star-like position, anchoring herself in one of the circular indents in the ceiling that were meant to be used for the lights. In her free hand she held the bright red bell that was used to summon her Crystal Twinkle Bell attack and was aiming it at Venus with one eye closed and her tongue sticking out. The Inner Scout was oblivious to Rini's plan, for she was in the act of draining a bottle of water.

"Oh no," Jupiter breathed, her eyes widening in horror as she realized what Mini Moon was planning, and she elbowed Serena hard in the stomach, pointing at her daughter in mute shock, the last words she had heard Rini say echoing throughout her head.

'_You wait. I'll get you back for this.' _And unless she and Serena acted fast, the heir to the throne would succeed in her malicious plan.

Sailor Moon gave a gasp of absolute horror, her dark blue eyes widening as far as they could go, gaze fixed upon Rini. _"No," _she whispered, her face turning white with rage. "Absolutely not. _RINI!"_

All the credit to Mini Moon; she did not falter once. Venus, however, alarmed at the shrillness of Sailor Moon's voice, choked on her mouthful of water and spat it out, causing it to hit the wall opposite her with a metallic clatter, coughing and spluttering. Rini, sensing that this was her chance, drew in a huge gasp of breath and shouted, "CRYSTAL TWINKLE -"

"NO!" roared Jupiter, and with agility that would break an acrobat's heart, she leapt into the air, streamlining her form for maximum speed, and in less than a second she had crossed the distance between herself and Rini, while Sailor Moon lunged at Venus, knocking her out of harm's way. With a snarl, Jupiter wrenched the bell out of Mini Moon's grip and tore the girl off of her perch, throwing her hard to the metal ground beneath her.

"_Serena!" _Venus spluttered as Jupiter landed in a tight crouch upon the ground, and she looked sharply over her shoulder to see that the Soldier of Love had spilt water all over herself and Serena, so that the two looked as though they had been assaulted by Neptune's Deep Submerge. "What gives?"

Then she took in the tensed position Jupiter was still coiled in, Rini's bell in hand, and saw Mini Moon herself splayed upon the ground, looking mutinous, causing bewilderment to flash across her face, replaced almost instantly by comprehension and then utmost rage.

"You little _brat!" _she shouted, leaping up so fast that she sent Sailor Moon sprawling. She started forwards, hands curled into fists, but Mars and Neptune appeared out of nowhere and held her back.

"What the -?" Serenity said, sounding bemused as she looked at the ludicrous scene before her.

"Do you think you can just – just –" Venus spluttered, her rage beyond words, her face twisted with outrage.

"Calm _down, _Venus!" gasped Neptune, practically lying on her back in order to restrain her. "She didn't mean -"

"I expected better of you, Small Lady," Pluto murmured, her voice deadly quiet. "You should have at least been hiding in a more shadowy alcove."

The tension vanished like a puncture balloon; everyone laughed, though Venus' was more a mixture of exasperation and disappointment than anything else. Mars and Neptune released the Soldier of Love and Mini Moon irritably wrenched her arm out of Pluto's grip, her nose in the air as she stalked away. Serenity watched the young Scout with a slight frown upon her face, but no one noticed this; the Inner and Outer Scouts had been reclaimed by the fervent excitement that preceded a battle, the tension particularly high between the two competing Outer Scouts, who had groups of supporters circled around them; Jupiter, Mars and Neptune stood beside Uranus, a confident smile upon the latter's face, while Mercury, Venus and Saturn surrounded Pluto, and the Guardian of Time looked as calm as if she were reading a rather boring book.

"You're going down, Pluto," Uranus said, her voice deadly quiet. Pluto raised her thin eyebrows, looking incredulous.

"Don't be so sure about that," Pluto murmured, shaking her head infinitesimally. "I might shove those words back down your throat."

"But you won't," Neptune retorted, her musical voice ringing with certainty.

"And you know that how?" Saturn demanded fiercely, her Silence Glaive held threateningly in one hand, and Neptune backed down, cowed, though her place was taken by Jupiter, whose eyes flashed angrily as she said, "Just a hunch."

"It really doesn't matter to me which one of you wins," Venus yawned fakely, stretching her arms luxuriantly above her head. "No one's gonna beat me."

"Oh, it's on," Uranus hissed, punching one fist into her hand, and she made to stride forwards, but at that precise moment, both she and Pluto vanished in mass of glowing green orbs.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Serenity cried, her voice ringing with laughter as the remaining Soldiers whirled around, spotting the Queen poised upon the balcony. "The semi final is about to begin!"

**Semi Final**

Uranus stepped forwards, cracking her knuckles threateningly as she sized Pluto up, mentally listing her strengths and attacks. _Deadly Scream and Garnet Ball are the ones I gotta watch out for, _she thought, narrowing her eyes slightly as she stared at her fellow Outer Scout, who, in sharp contrast to her, looked perfectly at ease. _Plus she has her staff and is one of the best CQC fighters there are. This is definitely gonna be a lot harder than it was when I faced off with Mercury and Jupiter. _And then, _Neptune will be proud._

"Let the battle..._begin!" _shouted Queen Serenity, and the crowd burst into life, their voices burned raw for the volume they were cheering at, so loud that it sent sharp tendrils of pain to assault her ears, but Uranus ignored this; the moment Serenity had spoken the first word, she had slipped into a tight crouch, circling Pluto, ready to jump, roll or sprint at a second's notice. Pluto came alive at once, her dark red eyes hardening as she followed suit, her painted lips curved into a fearsome snarl, Garnet Rod held horizontally across her back. For a moment, they restrained from attacking each other, but then that moment was gone, and in perfect unison, they lunged themselves forwards with snarls of concentration, Pluto swinging her staff hard through the air, Uranus turning a somersault to dodge it and popping to her feet the moment danger had passed, already in the act of initiating a crushing uppercut punch. Pluto twisted her Garnet Rod around so that its butt knocked her hand out of the way and spun into a twist kick, but Uranus blocked her attack with the side of her arm and then, catching her leg, made to swing her enemy away from her in a hammer throw-like toss, but with astounding strength, Pluto wrenched her leg out of her grip and twisted herself into somersault kick, her black boot catching her jaw sharply, and Uranus, acting purely on instinct, slackened it at the last second so that she would not bite her tongue. Giving her head a little shake to dispel the disorientation, Uranus bared her teeth and, with a ferocious snarl, sprinted forwards, running so fast that she left an image of herself in her place, jumping high into the air and bringing her hand down in a motion that would have cleaved Pluto in two had she not forced her staff above her head at the absolute last second, sending painful vibrations running through her arm. Uranus skipped backwards, aiming a straight punch at her opponent's face, but with impossible speed Pluto knocked her arm out of the air with her elbow, and in a fluent motion she slammed her staff upon the ground and, holding it tightly with both hands, flung herself into the air and spun around it as one would on a sideways monkey-bar, kicking Uranus hard in the face, and for once she was not ready for it; with a yell of pain she was blasted off her feet, spluttering and choking as she spat out a mouthful of blood, spiralling in an out-of-control sort of way, the crowd's cheering roaring in her ears-

Uranus landed on the ground in a tangle of limbs, but she instantly disentangled herself and rolled onto her back, wiping the blood away on the back of her hand, and her eyes widened in shock as she saw Pluto fly out of nowhere, having jumped impossibly high and was now falling towards her, emitting a war cry of sorts as she twirled her Garnet Rod above her head, preparing to slam it onto her stomach-

"No!" gasped Uranus, and in a fluid motion she whipped out her Space Sword and held it horizontally across her body to protect herself; sword met staff with a ringing clang, and the Soldier of Sky narrowed her eyes as she pushed back against Pluto, who had landed with her legs on either side of Uranus, both of them summoning all of their strength in an effort to win this mini battle, their arms trembling with effort as they grappled with each other, teeth bared, feral snarls ripping themselves from their throats-

"Take _this!" _Uranus snarled, kicking Pluto hard in the stomach, and the Guardian of Time staggered backwards, her breath rushing out of her lungs in a huff of surprise, clutching at her stomach. Uranus, however, was merciless; she leapt to her feet, wiping a trickle of blood away from the corner of her mouth, and she raised one hand above her head, clenching her fist around the orb of topaz she knew to be there, shouting, "SPACE SWORD _BLASTER!" _and ramming the hand clenched around the orb of light onto her weapon's handle before slashing it through the air, causing three disks of topaz light to explode into existence, renting the air apart with their deafening roar, twisting and curving as they rocketed towards Pluto in a lethal three-point formation. Grunting with effort, Pluto back flipped to avoid the first and was instantly forced to throw herself to the ground to avoid the second, but the third swooped low to ensure that she could not dodge it, and with a tortured scream she was hurled backwards, her form obscured by an electric current of light obscuring her form, sending rigid bolts of pain tearing through and causing her to writhe in unendurable agony-

"Gotcha there," Uranus hissed, spinning her dagger between her fingers and stowing it back in her skirt, an act she would come to regret immensely. Though Pluto appeared to have been incapacitated, her obscured form still twisting itself into grotesque displays of pain as she flew backwards through the air, she had somehow managed to retain her grip on her Garnet Rod, and to Uranus' utmost horror, she saw the Guardian of Time twist around and aim her staff at her, her shout somewhat strangled by her own excruciating scream-

"PLUTO DEADLY _SCREAM!" _she shrieked, and was instantly obscured by a mass of swirling wind that roared its displeasure, kicking up maelstroms of sand that sprinted forwards in a massive, insubstantial wall, forcing Uranus to shield her eyes and nose in the crook of her elbow, coughing thickly, but she forced her eyes open a crack when a deafening, uneartheal scream rent the air apart, accompanied by a violent purple light that was growing brighter and brighter at an alarming rate-

Uranus' roar of pain was lost as Pluto's Deadly Scream slammed into her with the force of an atomic bomb exploding, forcing her limbs to breaking point, her chin flung back at an unnatural angle. The pain was indescribable; it seemed to have taken over every part of her body, raging and thrashing through her, tearing her apart piece by piece, she had been blinded by it, unable to think and certainly unable to breathe, tumbling end over end, the crowd was roaring its appreciation, but somehow, Neptune managed to make herself heard over it all, her scream reverberating through her ears, just as painful as the agony ripping through her right now-

Uranus landed upon the ground in a limp and defeated heap, her head screaming in pain, gasping for breath, and a very large part of her was shouting for the pain to end, willing for release-

_Don't be idiotic, _screamed a voice in her head very much like Sailor Moon's. _You're the toughest Sailor Soldier there is! You beat Jupiter, you stopped Mercury from using her stupid little computer to anticipate your moves, and I'll be damned if you let Pluto walk all over you!_

Uranus forced her eyes open – when had they closed? – and, forcing herself to think through the senseless mass of pain that had descended upon her like a screaming fog, she sat up, pressing the heel of her hand to her temple, eyes watering, teeth gritted. An immensely tall woman was sprinting towards her, and it took her a second to recognize her as Pluto, her staff, the weapon that had caused her all this trouble, still in hand, Garnet Orb glowing brightly-

"ARGH!" shouted Uranus, staggering forwards, and then, lightning-fast, she had yanked her Space Sword out of its hidden carrier and hurled it at Pluto, reducing it to a golden blur, the air hissing lethally as it cut through it, aimed with deadly precision at the Guardian of Time's head-

"GARNET BALL!" shouted Pluto, slamming her staff upon the ground before her, and not only did Uranus' sword bounce off its flawless marble surface with a sharp twang, a curving half-sphere of violent red light exploded out of the heart-shaped jewel fixed upon its top, so forceful that it shunted Uranus back against the wall, and the Soldier of Sky, her strength utterly gone, was completely limp as she was slammed against a blissfully cool surface, unable to understand how, or why, she was this exhausted-

Pluto was sprinting forwards once more, passing through her Garnet Orb like it wasn't even there, towards the place where Uranus had been pinned, bringing her staff over her head in preparation to slam it over her head, but when she was feet from her, the enraged look in her eye morphed into one of dumbstruck shock, widening as far as they could go, a gasp of utmost horror escaping her lips as her face drained of colour. In less than a second, she had slammed her staff, not upon Uranus, but on the ground just in front of her, and with a gong-like boom, a ring of blood red light exploded off of her Garnet Orb, and then Pluto was gone.

With a bewildered gasp, Uranus slumped forwards, clutching onto her right arm with rigid fingers, the Garnet Ball vanishing in an explosion of ruby sparks. The crowd, unlike any battle before, did not explode into applause; aided by the massive screen floating hundreds of feet above them, they had seen that Uranus had not summoned a miraculous attack capable of vanquishing Pluto, but the camera angle had not provided a clear view of what happened. To the crowd, it looked as though the Guardian of time had missed her last attack and had vanished because of it.

_But why? _Uranus could only ask herself, staggering to her feet, her pulse pounding deafeningly in her ears, drowning out the bemused murmurs of the crowd. _Where did she go?_

For a moment, she stood there, trying to regain her senses, waiting for the world to stop spinning, but before that happened, she found herself standing in the participant's level of the arena, stunned faces swimming before her, but these were instantly lost in a flash of silvery white light that vanquished her pain and exhaustion, and when it cleared, the Soldier of Sky was standing rigid once more, her eyes fixed upon Queen Serenity's face, which was, for once, subdued.

"What happened?" she demanded, staring intently at the queen, who shook her head ruefully.

"I was about to ask you that," she murmured in her melodious voice, letting her eyes slide closed. "Did Pluto say anything before vanishing?"

"Of course she didn't, she was about to KO her!" Jupiter snapped indignantly, but mumbled an apology when the Queen shot her a sharp look. They all stood there for a moment, exchanging sceptical looks, but then the silence was broken by Rini's childish voice.

"Where's Luna-P?" she demanded, having clearly not been watching the battle and tugging on Mars' skirt in an effort to make herself heard. "What happened?"

"We don't know, Rini," Sailor Moon murmured, shaking her head, her eyes glassed over with tears. Turning to her mother, she asked, "What does this mean?"

"It means the matchup for the final round has been determined!" shouted Serenity, and everyone groaned in pain, cradling their heads in the arms as her magically magnified voice assaulted their ears. The queen strode out towards the balcony, her hands clasped under her chin, calling, "Ladies and gentlemen, it appears that Sailor Pluto has decided her time would be better spent in activities outside this competition. I hope her fans will not be overly disappointed with my decision, but the Guardian of Time has been disqualified."

A deafening groan issued from the crowd, accompanied by a furious, united shout of, "SHE WAS ABOUT TO FINISH URANUS OFF!"

"That may be," Serenity called, smiling slightly as the Scouts ran out onto the balcony to join her. "And had she managed to defeat Uranus before vanishing, the tournament would be put on hold until her return. Technically, however, Sailor Uranus was the last Scout standing, and will therefore be competing against Sailor Venus in the final round!"

Deafening applause sounded from the Soldier of the Sky's supporters, transported with joy that their champion had made it this far, as did those of the eliminated Sailor Soldiers who had chosen her as their next favourite. The supporters of Sailor Pluto, however, booed and hissed, and riots between the two Outer Scouts' supporters would rage for several days, but no one wants to hear about that. Leaving the crowd to their own devices, Serenity led the Sailors back inside, but her path was blocked almost instantly by Saturn, whose large violet eyes were narrowed threateningly as she hissed, "What about Pluto?"

The Queen blinked. "What about her?"

"We've got to help her!" Venus chimed in, moving to stand beside the Messiah of Silence, her hands on her hips.

"Venus, we have no idea anything's even wrong," Serenity murmured, shaking her head with a slight smile on her face, patting Venus on the head in a very degrading action. Taking the exasperated silence as one of submission from her protesters, the Queen strode off in order to talk to a small, nervous looking man who had just entered the participants' level.

_Is she serious? _Uranus asked herself, shaking her head while glaring at the queen through narrowed eyes. _Where there's smoke there's fire, and something's definitely up._

She was, with good reason, more enraged at Pluto's unexplained disappearance than anyone else, even the Outer Scout's fans, because she knew in her heart that that was not the way she had wanted to defeat Pluto; in the real world, enemies did not simply vanish without reason. You had to defeat them on your own, shedding blood, sweat and strength to accomplish your goal, even if it cost you your life. If she was honest with herself, she knew that Pluto had gotten the better of their fight, and would have probably knocked her out of the running with that final swipe of her Garnet Rod, but had she not been about to be defeated, she would have continued to battle her very hardest in order to knock out her fellow Scout.

_I might have not gotten the better of that fight, _the Soldier of Sky thought, clenching her fists, oblivious to the hand Neptune placed on her shoulder. _But I'm still the one moving on. And I'm going to beat Venus, no matter what it takes. I _will _win the next round, fair and square. Nothing will stand between me and that senshipen._


	6. The Final Round

Sorry for my brief absence from the site, guys! Hope this doesn't disappoint!

* * *

It was set.

Uranus and Venus would battle in the final round, Inner Scout versus Outer Scout, competing for glory that would shine from every square inch on their planet, as well as the honour of being the top Sailor Soldier and gaining an upgraded senshipen.

Though the tension and excitement were running so high that it seemed like there was a sort of electric current in the air, everyone – albeit Serenity – had their doubts as to whether Uranus or Venus really deserved the title; Pluto had vanished before she had been able to knock out Uranus, and had apparently brought her to the brink of a KO with apparent ease. So if someone next to the best was competing against Venus, didn't this make the final round more of a consolation final?

The knowledge infuriated Uranus more than anyone else, for though most of her fellow Soldiers smiled and offered their congratulations to her, she was certain that they were discussing her free pass to the final round behind her back. Everyone except Venus seemed to think it was unfair, for the Soldier of Love seemed to think that she was getting off easy, having to face, as she put it, 'Pluto's leftovers'.

"Don't worry," Neptune murmured in her musical voice, patting her gently on the arm. "She's just a blonde bimbo with an inflated head. You'll have no trouble beating her."

Uranus half-smiled. "That description can be applied to me too, ya know."

Neptune rolled her eyes, laughing quietly. "You're no bimbo, Uranus. And anyway, these are all just games; in the long run, it doesn't matter at all who wins a senshipen and who doesn't. I wouldn't be surprised if Serenity presents us all with new ones, even if it's after a few weeks."

"You're talking like I'm about to lose," Uranus observed, punching Neptune playfully on the shoulder.

"You are," said Saturn, who was passing, tossing a wink over her shoulder.

"I have no idea how this battle's going to turn out," Neptune said with a straight face, though there was a strange glint in her eyes the Soldier of Sky did not like. "But -"

"Why don't you use your mirror to find out?" Uranus demanded, reaching forwards, but Neptune stepped nimbly out of her reach, shaking her head before continuing as if there had been no interruption.

"Don't you think that we should have more important matters on our mind?" she murmured, shaking her turquoise-haired head in an annoyed sort of way. "Pluto's gone to the gods-only-know where without so much as a whisper to us, and I'll be damned if she's not fighting whoever she saw in that vision of hers, but we have no idea when she'll be back or, indeed, _if _she'll be back."

Uranus nodded, the grin fading off her face as Neptune's words yanked her back into reality. Pluto had confided in the Outer Scouts the contents of the vision she had had while battling Sailor Mars in the first round, and though it greatly worried the four of them at its abrupt and untimely appearance, they had thought that they would at least be able to finish the tournament without incident. In hindsight, they probably should have mentioned it to Queen Serenity, but –

"It's like Serenity doesn't even care," Uranus murmured through unmoving lips, so quietly that only Neptune could hear. The Soldier of the Ocean nodded, her deep blue eyes narrowed slightly as she allowed her gaze to slide over the queen, who was standing on the balcony, a look of whole-hearted enjoyment on her face as she observed the rowdy audience.

"I suppose she doesn't think it's that big a deal," Neptune murmured, turning back to face Uranus, shaking her head in exasperation, and Uranus snorted in agreement.

"If disappearing in the middle of a battle isn't a big deal, I'd love to know what it," she hissed, clenching her fists briefly.

"Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do to help Pluto right now, and I think we should stop lamenting over it," Neptune paused, her gaze flickering over to where the Inner Scouts were cluttered around Venus, all of them laughing loudly. "I should probably let you concentrate on the final, Uranus." She stood up swiftly, a mischievous glint in her eyes, and, bending down so that her lips were an inch from her ear, breathed, "Make sure you win; I still haven't forgiven Venus."

And with that, she strode away, calling out to Mini Moon, who had been watching Serena, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter and Mars talking with a wistful expression on her face. Uranus watched her go, a pang of loneliness coursing through her, though they had barely been apart for a split second.

"You ready, Uranus?" Jupiter asked, seeing that Neptune had left and punching her lightly on the shoulder. Wrenching her eyes away from her companion, the Outer Scout stared at Jupiter with a slight smirk upon her face.

"How come you aren't cheering for Venus?" she asked, tilting her head to the side and staring at the Inner Scout with an almost challenging expression on her face.

Jupiter shrugged, a smile spreading across her face. "I don't know. I think it's kinda silly, Outer Scouts versus Inner Scouts. Plus, I figured you needed the support."

Uranus' smile vanished like a rabbit down a hole. "That's completely ridiculous. Support won't help you win."

"Fine," Jupiter said, winking in a threatening sort of way. "I'll just scream out insults at you the entire time. I'm sure you'll do just fine."

Uranus shook her head, laughing quietly as she turned away from the Soldier of Lightning; at the same moment, Serenity came in from the balcony, positively beaming as she called, "Uranus. Venus. The time has come."

Silence fell so quickly it was almost comical; the eliminated Sailor Soldiers parted to allow the two combatants to pass, every eye fixed upon the Queen. "Congratulations for making it this far," Serenity murmured, oblivious to the silence. "You've done both your planets and fellow Soldiers proud. Good luck in the final."

Before either of them could speak, Uranus and Venus found themselves standing in the middle of the arena once more, blinking in a slightly stunned sort of way as the crowd, noticing their appearance, lost their minds completely; every person leapt to their feet in perfect unison, and with an almighty roar the men, women and children who had come to see the tournament exploded into life, screaming their approval for the top two Sailor Soldiers, the inequality that was Sailor Pluto's disqualification temporarily banished from their minds as the supporters stamped their feet and clapped their hands, pounding on the railings before them and straining to make themselves heard.

"_WE LOVE YOU, VENUS!" _screamed a group of crazed fans about the Soldier of Love's age.

"YEAH URANUS!" roared a group of teenage boys, pumping the air triumphantly and waving a flag bearing the planetary sign of the Soldier of Sky. "YOU GOT THIS!"

"GO EVERYONE!" Sailor Moon shouted over all the rest, leaping up and down on the balcony, visible even from this distance.

"Think you've got enough support?" Venus murmured out of the corner of her mouth, the two of them standing side by side, staring up at the massive screen above them, which was displaying their forms, half-smiles upon both their faces.

Uranus gave an infinitesimal shake of her head, amused. "Is that a question?"

"No, it's a statement," Venus said, turning to look at the Outer Scout with a strange expression on her face; it was almost solemn. "I'm glad I'm facing off with you, Uranus; if it means anything, I'd rather have to lose to you than anyone else."

"Glad you've come to terms with the inevitable," Uranus muttered through unmoving lips, turning her head slightly and punching Venus on the shoulder, who gave a mocking wince, pouting, "That's just mean. You're supposed to say something nice."

Their conversation came to an abrupt halt as the ground beneath them gave a low rumble and shuddered violently , causing large clouds of displaced sand to erupt around them and nearly forcing them to fall down.

"Woah!" cried Venus, staggering backwards. "What's happening?"

Before Uranus could even begin to compose an answer, a large square section of the arena, at least a hundred feet across, broke away from the rest of the sandy surface completely as it rose up into the air at a snails' crawl, vast amounts of sand rolling off its side in choking clouds and revealing a flawless metallic surface beneath. Uranus instinctively glanced towards the Sailors' balcony, and judging by the way no one had jumped off it and was running towards them, things were going exactly according to Serenity's plan.

"Ladies and gentlemen," cried the Queen, throwing her arms wide, her smile visible even through the masses of sand. "The final round, with a twist!"

Venus shook her head, exasperated. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's having more fun than we are."

Uranus raised her eyebrows. _"Do _you know any better?" And Venus let out a single note of laughter before remembering that they were opponents. The rest of the ascent passed in a tense silence, neither combatant looking at the other as they set about preparing themselves for the final, the deafening roar of the crowd sliding into a slight ruckus in background in both their minds. When they were about seven hundred feet in the air and well above the highest level in the stands, their platform shuddered to a halt, while the massive screen overhead was forced to float even higher so that there was still considerable distance between them.

Suddenly, there was a drawn out, laseresque explosion of noise, and then a monstrous orb of translucent red light had appeared around them, barely visible, but there all the less. Uranus and Venus watched in surprised silence as the orb changed from red to bright orange, lightening almost instantly to a sunny yellow and then morphing into lime green.

"What the -?" Uranus murmured, her eyes reflecting the massive sphere, narrowed incredulously.

"I apologize for the inconvenience," Serenity's voice, whispered this time, so that the two Soldiers were sure that only they could hear her. "It's for your own protection."

"Contestants!" shouted the queen, this time twenty times louder, though the volume was lessened somewhat by the orb, which was currently a chaotic shade of violet. "Please shake hands!"

"You can't be serious," muttered Uranus, turning to face Venus, who had a superior little smile on her face as she extended one gloved hand. Uranus grasped it tightly, her eyes never leaving Venus' as they sized each other up.

"Have fun losing, Uranus," Venus whispered through unmoving lips, deceptively calm, and before the Soldier of Sky had time to retort, Venus had twisted herself into a crushing roundhouse kick that she initiated so fast she was able to land in the exact spot the image she had left of herself was standing. The air gave a lethal hiss, and suddenly Uranus was on the cold metal floor, her torso aching in the place Venus had kicked her.

With a wordless snarl, she leapt to her feet, feinting a kick to her right but instead bringing her fist up in a devastating uppercut punch that Venus tried to dodge, though she was not quick enough, catching the end of the blow sharply under the chin and staggering backwards, though she regained her balance almost instantly and was forced to employ every type of block she could think of the parry the mass of lightning-fast attacks Uranus unleashed on her; she knocked her hook punch out of the air by bringing her elbow sharply forwards and was instantly forced to knock her right hand aside with the side of her forearm before catching the straight punch Uranus aimed at her face in one gloved hand, standing feet shoulder width apart in attempt to steady herself, using all the strength in her body in attempt to hold back Uranus' arm.

"Ha!" snarled the Outer Scout, wrenching her hand out of Venus', and as she staggered backwards, Uranus twisted around in a sharp spinning kick, but Venus ducked underneath this and, with a savage cry, launched herself forwards, heaving herself backwards in a somersault kick, but Uranus, landing lightly on her feet, caught Venus' legs when they were inches from her throat, suspending her in a precarious handstand.

With a grunt of effort, Uranus heaved the Soldier of Love off the ground and flung her high into the air and over her shoulder, but the Inner Scout, displaying astonishing reflexes, wrenched her legs out of her grip as she flew and, twisting upside down, pressed one index finger against Uranus' forehead and shouted, "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM _SMASH!" _

Their closeness was such that not even Uranus had time to employ a counter attack; the air was rent apart by an ear-splitting blast and a flash of blinding golden light that rammed into Uranus with excruciating force. Her scream was one of absolute pain as she flew backwards through the air, speeding backwards so fast her form appeared blurred, and in less than two seconds she had slammed into the curving barrier that surrounded them, and a short burst of agony tore through Uranus as the electrical surface sent tendrils of pain ripping through her, accompanied by a low rumble of a boom as she hit the force field. She fell face-down on the ground with a little gasp of pain, her whole body aching, but she forced herself up, knowing that a lot worse was coming if she didn't move. Sure enough, Venus was sprinting forwards, her dark blue eyes flaming with battle-induced fury, feet barely touching the ground for the speed she was running at. With a growl Uranus ran forwards to meet her, catching the Soldier of Love's furious hook punch with one hand in a move that was all too easy before darting onto the Inner Scout's blind side, twisting her arm so that she was restraining her police-to-fugitive style, but Venus' cry of pain cut off abruptly as she wrenched her arm out of her grip and jumped into the air, lashing out in a hard split kick, but Uranus bent backwards to avoid her limb, leaning back so far that the back of her head brushed the cool metal floor. In a strange, disembodied point of view, she saw Venus falling back to the ground, and so, in a move identical to the one the Inner Scout had attempted to use on her, only she was successful in using it; her foot caught Venus' hard in the stomach, and with a yowl of outrage she was flung ten feet up into the air, doubled over in pain. Uranus landed in a splayed crouch upon the ground, capitalizing upon her opponent's incapacitation by whipping out her golden dagger and shouting, "SPACE SWORD _BLASTER!"_

Three massive disks of topaz light exploded out of the gems encrusted in her blade, reduced to lethal streaks of colour as they flashed forwards at the speed of light, homing in on the flying form of the Inner Scout and slamming into her stomach with an explosion of noise so loud it was almost painful. Sailor Venus was obscured entirely from view as she was blasted even higher into the air, her scream made weak and tinny in comparison to the resulting burst of sound caused by their impact. As she slammed into the top of the sphere above them, it temporarily transformed from cyan blue to purest white, jagged bolts of lavender light running out from the place Venus hit, her form cackling with tongues of energy as she fell back to the ground in a limp heap. Uranus skipped lightly back out of Venus' path, but to her horror, her opponent unfurled herself from her deceptive coil and landed in sitting position upon her shoulders, trembling slightly from the torture she had just endured, but her attack was quite unimpaired as she heaved herself backwards in a move she had used to great success upon Neptune; as Uranus was catapulted over her head in an enraged pile of flailing limbs, the Soldier of Love turned a no-hands back flip and whirled around, shouting, "VENUS! ROLLING HEART VIBRATION!"

Uranus saw, from her speeding, upside-down point of view, a positive armada of streaking pink light rocket towards her, and at its center was an impossibly large heart that expanded with each second it spent in the living spectrum, cackling with lethal amounts of energy, energy that slammed into Uranus with deadly force and blasting her backwards with force that would surely be enough to propel her through the side of the orb that surrounded her-

Tearing through it would have been preferable to the force of the impact of the collision between the Soldier of Sky and the electric purple force field, spots of light burst into existence before her eyes and, for a few seconds, Uranus was pinned their, prisoner to agony, her own yells deafening her, but then she had slid down the barrier and collapsed into a shuddering heap upon the ground, morely for Venus' benefit than her own, for though she ached with enough pain to last her a decade, she was nowhere near her breaking point yet, and it could only help her by lulling her opponent into a false sense of security.

But unlike what had happened in several battles before theirs, Venus did not rush to her side; clearly suspicious and just as clever as she had proved herself to be, she pointed her right index finger at her slumped form and shouted, "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!"

Whether her attacks got more powerful over time, or if this particular attack was merely driven by rage Uranus did not know, but the Crescent Beam seemed to be rocketing towards her ten times faster than normal, and she was forced to abandon her injured facade and leap high into the air to avoid being attacked again, but even as her attack was absorbed into the barrier, Venus unleashed another upon her, aiming at the place where she thought Uranus would fall into, but with speed that astonished even her, she twisted to the side, her white bodice smoking slightly where the Crescent Beam grazed her, but the Inner Scout was not done yet; as she landed heavily on the ground, Venus unleashed two, three, four more Beams upon her, her face contorted with fury as she tried to land a blow on her. Baring her teeth, Uranus took off like an arrow from a bow to dodge the first one, cut sharply in the other direction to avoid the next, turned a somersault at the last second to dodge the third and leapfrogged the Inner Scout as the final one exploded out of her hand. Both combatants whirled around, feral snarls upon their faces as they glared at each other, and in perfect unison they sprinted forwards, Uranus bringing her leg up in a crushing twist kick, Venus putting all her strength behind a devastating haymaker, but she their limbs collided, hands and feet inches from each other's faces, the sheer force behind each blow enough to make the other stop dead. They glared at each other for a moment, then yanked their limbs back into position, Uranus ducking under the punch Venus aimed at her face and lunging forwards, driving her fist into her opponent's stomach with enough force to down a lion, so it came as no surprise to Uranus when Venus flew back five feet, kept aloft only by clutching onto the hand she had driven into her stomach. The leader of the Outer Scouts' eyes widened in horror as her opponent's fingers turned into rigid claws that clutched onto her hand, and an actual gasp escaped her lips when she tried and failed to shake her off. With a slightly strangled cry, Venus lifted Uranus off her feet and flung her over her shoulder with strength that would have made Jupiter cry. Uranus, for the third time in so many minutes, found herself pinned against the orb around them once more, though this time she had a clear head, which would prove to make all the difference in what was coming; Venus appeared out of nowhere, her face contorted with fury, in the act of kneeing her in the stomach, but Uranus sashayed to the side to avoid this and spun around as fast as she could, swinging her leg out in front of her, and to her joy she caught Venus sharply on the back, the force of her assault such that the Inner Scout was rebounded off the barrier and fell back some ten feet away from it. The Soldier of Sky whipped around, leaping high into the air and drawing her fist over her shoulder as she prepared to attack the splayed Venus, and her dazed look sharpened into one of utmost comprehension as she rolled out of the way with not a second to spare; Uranus' fist slammed into the floor so hard that it trembled slightly, but she wasted no time in lamenting her miss; leaping to her feet, she was just in time to see Venus fling herself at her, and with a cry of, "NO!" she twisted around and kicked her flying opponent hard in the stomach, though not before Venus landed a roundhouse kick on her left side.

Both Uranus and Venus staggered backwards, gasping in pain, but even injured the Inner Scout was merciless; lightning fast, she made the sign of love above her head and shouted, "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" and with a sharp flick of her wrist she sent a massive chain of interlocked golden hearts rocketing towards her with a sinister whooshing noise-

_Time for a little foul play, _Uranus thought, and impracticable speed she whipped out the object that had been given to her just before Serenity blasted her into the arena. Venus' Love Chain rebounded off Neptune's Deep Aqua Mirror with a metallic explosion of noise, and her opponent's eyes widened in incredulity, while Uranus let out a hiss of satisfaction when she saw the Inner Scout's attack rebound upon herself, enveloping her from the neck down in interlocking hearts that crackled with white-hot sparks that assaulted her form.

"Where – did you – get that?" Venus gasped in between cries of pain, writhing and struggling against the chain that bound her. Uranus winked, waving the mirror tauntingly in front of Venus.

"All's fair in love and war," she growled, and with that, she plunged her hand into her skirt and pulled out her dagger, shouting, "SPACE SWORD _BLASTER!"_

The close proximity between them would have been enough to finish Venus off; she was absolutely certain of it. But the Inner Scout, it seemed, was not finished yet; with a cry, she flung herself into the air, which is not the easiest thing to do when bound head to toe in electrocuting chains. Realizing she had failed, Uranus jumped after Venus, drawing her sword high over her shoulder, and with a shout of, "ARGH!" she brought the blade over her shoulder with crushing force, reducing the blade to a streak of light, but to her horror, she slashed the Love Chain to bits with an almost musical smash.

"YES!" Venus yelled, flinging her arms out from her sides, and with that, she twisted into a mid-air butterfly kick, her high-heeled shoes ramming into the side of Uranus' face within seconds of each other.

Uranus' shout of pain mingled with that of Sailor Moon, though hers was a different kind of shout; watching helplessly from the balcony with the other Sailor Soldiers, she, as were Mercury, Mars and Saturn, was enraged to see the Outer Scout produce Neptune's Deep Aqua Mirror from out of nowhere and use it to deflect Venus' Love Chain.

"SHE CAN'T DO THAT!" yelled the Moon Princess, turning to glare pleadingly at her mother, who, to her exasperation, was smiling.

"Of course she can," murmured Serenity without taking her eyes off the fight. "There are no rules against it."

"What -? I -" Serena began to protest, but she was cut off by Neptune.

"That's for beating me, Venus!" screamed the Soldier of the Ocean, shaking her fist at the Inner Scout, though she did not have a hope of making herself heard.

Serena struggled violently to keep herself from attacking Neptune, but she after a second, inspiration struck her like a lightning bolt. "If Uranus can use the Mirror," she said, turning to stare at her mother, who spared her a bemused half-glance. "then Venus can use _this!"_

And with that, she pulled out her Moon Rod, tossing it high into the air, shouting, "Here, Venus!" and causing the bright red sceptre to vanish in a burst of pinkish-white light.

Back in the sphere up above, Uranus was stunned to see a crack of pinkish-white light rent the air above Venus head, and, to her complete bewilderment, Serena's Moon Rod fell out of the air, twirling gracefully before landing in Venus' outstretched hands. The Soldier of Love shot her a look of pure venom, hissing, "All's fair in love and war, right Uranus?"

Before the Outer Scout had time to do more than take an instinctive step back, Venus shouted, "SILVER MOON CRYSTAL POWER KISS!" and slashed the Moon Rod through the air, and though it usually gave Uranus utmost joy to see the power being accessed, at the moment it filled her with nothing but horror.

The attack, which should have been exclusive to Sailor Moon, was turned upon her by Venus, and with a deafening roar, a mass of golden light exploded out of the winged heart that topped the Moon Rod, dividing into countless streaks, each ten times more powerful than her World Shaking, and in the center was a massive orb of merciless golden light that slammed into her with a musical explosion of sound far too majestic for the agony that ripped through her; Uranus let out a piercing, tortured scream as she was blasted back through the air, enveloped in a cocoon of golden light, but not for nothing was the attack among Sailor Moon's most powerful one; the streaks of light were merciless, assaulting her form with every chance they got, like lightning and flame and bombs all rolled into one, each one wrecking havoc in her body, and the attack was so powerful that Uranus rebounded off the barrier not once, but three times before she was slammed onto the ground with impossible force, bouncing a full five feet before coming to a halt on the ground.

_That's it, _Uranus thought dully, the thought coming to her in a strange, disembodied sort of way. _I'm finished. Venus won it._

Knowing that it was pointless to lay on the floor, Uranus forced herself up, her whole body screaming in protest, muscles turning against her in attempt to force her back to the ground, but the Soldier of Sky pressed on, thinking of Serenity and how she had the power to make this unendurable agony vanish in a flash of her Silver Crystal-

But to her astoundment, she found herself standing, not in the participant's level of the arena, but still in the orb, her form surrounded by glowing green orbs, shuddering as violently as though her own personal earthquake was tearing through her body, and each throb from her heart brought with it a hundred agonizing throbs of agony from the rest of her body, her vision obscured by tears of pain. She was, however, able to see the look of absolute horror upon Venus' face, undoubtedly dumbstruck that she was not finished yet.

"Looks like someone needs to learn a lesson," Uranus chided through gritted teeth, tossing her sandy blonde hair out of her eyes as she focused upon Venus with some difficulty, summoning all of her energy for her most powerful attack, an attack that she had only ever used twice. Clenching her hands around her sword's glowing hilt and forcing it above her head, she channelled all of her dwindling strength into the blade as she bellowed, "SPACE...TURBULENCE!"

With a vicious slash, she slashed her sword vertically through the air, and she was deafened by the roar of the detonation that took place as the veritable supernova of energy exploded off her blade and rocketed towards Venus in two towering columns of topaz flame that continued out of the barrier and up into the heavens, so powerful that the platform shook harder than if the forces of the most lethal tsunami, tornado and hurricane combined were ripping through it.

The Soldier of Love didn't stand a chance.

Unlike with any other attack, Venus was not blasted forwards as the two columns rammed into her, but absorbed completely by them, her screams lost, reduced to naught but an onyx silhouette as she was blasted back and forth inside the column, ricocheting off electrocuting walls, her form as rigid as a board, twisting itself into grotesque displays of pain.

For a full twenty seconds, the Inner Scout thrashed and writhed, and then, in an explosion of golden light, the column disappeared with another ear-splitting roar. Uranus, who had been shielding her face in the crook of her arm, looked up, and was not at all surprised to see that Venus had gone, but it did not keep her from dropping her Space Sword with a clatter, or from punching the air victoriously and falling to her knees, screaming, _"YES!"_

She had done it, she had won, Sailor Venus, as was every enemy who had come up against Space Turbulence, was no match for her; she, Sailor Uranus, was the best of the Sailor Soldiers, better than Saturn and Jupiter and Serena and Venus, what did it matter if Pluto hadn't gotten the chance to knock her out-

"Hey, Uranus?"

Venus' voice was barely louder than a whisper, but Uranus would have preferred it if the Inner Scout had screamed it. With a gasp of utmost horror, the Soldier of Sky leapt to her feet, her hand flying to her throat, hoping against hope that her ears were deceiving her, and it made it that much more painful to see that Sailor Venus was standing there, looking as exhausted as though she had just sprinted two marathons, her face drained of all colour, trembling violently, but her eyes shone with resolve, and there was a certain hardness in her mouth that made Uranus want to turn tail and run away screaming.

They stared at each other for a moment, both of them looking as though ghostly green shields had erupted around them, and it was quite possible that a light slap would have knocked them both out. But they were Sailor Soldiers, warriors who fought until their hearts stopped beating, and they were certainly not about to let something as stupid as exhaustion step in the way of eternal glory.

Uranus acted instinctively; this was her absolute last chance, and all it would take was a stroke of luck for her to finish Venus off once and for all. Emitting a bellow of rage, she clenched her fist above her head, a ring of topaz light exploding off of it just as Venus pointed her finger at her with awful finality, a golden current running down her arm-

"URANUS WORLD SHAKING!"

"_VENUS METEOR STRIKE!"_

Her eardrums burst as their attacks exploded into life, the golden light that had burst off of both of them threatening to blind her, but by nothing short of a miracle, Uranus saw Venus' Meteor Strike rocketing towards her, a tad darker than the light that had claimed her world, and with the absolute last of her strength she jumped as high as she could, drawing her knees into her chest to ensure her legs would not be hit. Ear-splitting explosions sounded from every side of her, she had no idea what had happened to Venus, golden light was everywhere-

And then she was standing on the raised silver platform, the massive orb had vanished from around her, as had her World Shaking and Venus' Meteor Strike. This time, the Soldier of Love really had gone, a Sailor Soldier-shaped cloud of green orbs in her place, and there was a beat of deafening silence before the crowd realized what had happened and exploded into life once more, the din just as booming as their battle had been, sides temporarily dissolved as everyone in the Moon Kingdom cheered for Sailor Uranus, the champion of the Sailor Soldiers, the last woman standing-

_Yes, _was all Uranus could think, sinking to her knees, and though her eyes were clenched shut, she could not quite stem the flow of her tears. _Yes!_

"NO!" screamed Sailor Moon, hurling her Moon Rod onto the ground, her rage exploding out of her as Venus burst out of the side of the light-filled orb, her limbs spread eagled, form surrounded by orbs of green, and in less than a second she had vanished in a burst of green light.

"_YES!" _screamed everyone else, Neptune loudest of them all, jumping up and down, all dignity forgotten, dancing and clapping and pounding each other on the backs, all infected by the joy of Uranus' triumph.

"Serena," Queen Serenity called, twisting around with some difficulty, and she handed her daughter her own Mood Rod, her arm bent at a bizarre angle to get the job done. "Heal Venus. Goodness knows she's going to need it."

Sailor Moon turned and stormed back inside, kicking her sceptre viciously as she did so. After all that, after all the pain and exhaustion and endless suffering, how was it possible that Venus had lost, defeated by the leader of the Outer Scouts?

Sure enough, Venus had arrived, as limp as a doll and about as animate as one, covered in a thin sheen of sweat as she lay splayed upon one of the couches, her chest rising and falling very shallowly. Eyes widening in horror at seeing her friend like this, Sailor Moon sprinted to Venus side, waving her arm wildly and causing the world to be lost in a flash of silver light which, for some odd reason, mingled with a ring of blood red. When the light dispersed, Venus looked far better, like a healthy corpse, her breathing slower, more even and Serena temporarily forgot her frustration at her friend's loss in favour of smiling in satisfaction.

"Good job, Venus," she whispered, taking her friend's limp hand in hers. "You almost did it. I thought you were pretty clo-"

From behind her, someone's weak, hoarse voice whispered, "S-Sailor M...Moon!"

Gasping in surprise, Serena whirled around, her hand flying to her throat, Moon Rod clenched, but all the tension evaporated from her body as she saw who had spoken her name. "Pluto!" she gasped, sprinting forwards and throwing herself onto her knees beside the newcomer. It was indeed Sailor Pluto, but she looked a hundred times worse for the wear; her face and arms were covered in a mixture of blood, sweat and soot, and the little parts of her body that were visible were covered in purple bruises. Her uniform had been slashed to bits and there was a shallow crack that ran from the top of her Garnet Rod to its butt, and her dark red eyes were half-lidded, orbs that were slightly unfocused due to exhaustion.

"Pluto, what happened?" Sailor Moon demanded, taking the Guardian of Time's face in between her hands in attempt to make her focus on her. "Everyone's been freaking out – you didn't explain a thing, Uranus just won the tournament -"

"S-Serenity," gasped Pluto, who had clearly not heard a word she said. "I -"

"What? No, I'm Serena!" Sailor Moon said, jabbing herself in the chest. "Oh my gosh, what _happened _–"

"No," Pluto whispered, her voice alarmingly weak. "S-Serena I'm...sorry. I didn't -" she cut herself off with a gasp of pain, and she clenched her eyes shut, digging her knuckles into the ground as she struggled for breath, and in between frantic gulps of air she choked out, "Serenity – must not -"

But before she could finish her sentence, the Outer Scout gave a little gasp and fell away from Serena, colliding with the metal ground with a dull thud. Sailor Moon gasped in horror and staggered forwards, grasping her friend's limp arm and trying to pull her into an upright position, whispering, "Oh no, oh no, Pluto, _please, _wake up!"

Realizing that the Sailor was too heavy, she reached into her skirt with fumbling fingers and pulled out her Moon Rod, pointing it at Pluto with a shaking hand and flicking it sharply through the air, causing the participants' level of the stadium to be filled with bright silver light that vanished as quickly as it came, leaving a far less hassled-looking Pluto in its place.

The cheers and shouts outside stopped abruptly as Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Mini Moon, Neptune, Saturn and Serenity, who had been applauding Uranus on the balcony, stopped dead in their tracks, leaving a stunned silence in their wake. Then-

"Oh dear," gasped Neptune, her oceanic blue eyes widening in astoundment as she took in the unconscious Pluto and Venus.

"You could say that again," Jupiter said, raising her eyebrows and running towards Venus, pressing an ear to her unmoving chest.

"What happened here?" Serenity murmured, incredulous, looking first at Serena, then the Guardian of Time, then the Soldier of Love before returning her gaze to the Moon Princess, who gaped back at her mother, a pleading look on her face.

"Mother... Pluto just appeared – she was on the verge of fainting the entire time - I think she was in some violent fight, she was covered in blood and bruises and looked absolutely _exhausted, _and she said..." she gulped, aware that every eye was fixed upon her. "She started to say something...that you couldn't do something, but then she passed out."

Everyone exchanged incredulous looks, the silence absolute, but then the conscious Soldiers trained their gazes upon Serenity, waiting desperately for her to speak, the cheers that were still assaulting their ears sounding far too happy in comparison to this new development.

The Queen stared hard at Pluto for a full minute, biting her lip, her face completely expressionless, though her eyes betrayed this facade, displaying their indecision. Then, quite abruptly, her head snapped up, her expression leading them all to believe that there was absolutely nothing wrong.

"Well, there's nothing we can do for her right now," Serenity said, clasping her hands underneath her chin. "We can continue this conversation after she wakes up. In the meantime, we have a ceremony to conduct!"

Everyone was stunned; the last thing anyone felt like doing was cheering on Uranus when the Guardian of Time had just been brutally attacked, and even more frightening was the many possibilities as to what Pluto would be like when she woke up. They were even more exasperated at the fact that Serenity did not seem to care much about what had just happened, just like she had chosen to continue as if Pluto had not disappeared. Did she know something they didn't? Was she hiding something from them? Or was she vainly trying to salvage the happiness the tournament had induced before they had to face the reality that was staring them straight in the face.

Continuing as though all of the Soldiers were beaming at her idea, the Queen strode forwards and stood over the unconscious Venus. Gazing at her in a strangely contemplating way, Serenity reached out and placed her hand on the Soldier of Love's face in an almost unconscious movement, and the moment she made contact, Venus' eyes flew open, and she gazed bewilderedly into the face of the completely calm Serenity for a moment before a flicker of remembrance passed through her face, replaced by a glowering look of absolute bitterness.

"Good fight, Venus," murmured the Queen, letting her eyes slide closed and reaching out a hand to help the defeated Soldier to her feet. "I hope you aren't too disappointed."

The look on Venus' face was such that several of the Soldiers thought that she might slap the Queen, but the Soldier of Love merely growled incoherently and got heavily to her feet, ignoring Serenity's still outstretched hand. Curling her fingers into her palm, she withdrew her hand and, turning to face the rest of the Sailors, murmured, "Serena, Rini, Venus...I know that it's probably the last thing you feel like doing right now, but your presence, as royalty and runner-up, is required at the victory ceremony. So if you wouldn't mind..."

The three Soldiers exploded into protest, but before any of them could get past the first syllable of their protest, they vanished in bursts of tiny green orbs, followed almost instantly by Serenity.

"What do you make of _that_?" Mars hissed, the moment the Queen had vanished, staring at her fellow Sailors in an almost daring sort of way. "She knows something we don't, I'll bet you anything."

"I don't know," Mercury murmured, shaking her head and biting her lip. "If it was anything important, I'm sure she would have told us."

"Yes," Neptune nodded slowly, her oceanic blue eyes flickering towards the balcony. "I'm sure that Serenity's desire to keep the spirit of the tournament alive wouldn't mar her duty as queen to keep us informed of what's going on."

But neither Mars nor Mercury nor Jupiter nor Saturn believed the Outer Scouts' words and neither, they thought, did Neptune.

**Awards Ceremony**

The expression upon Uranus' face could not have been any smugger, nor could the looks upon the faces of Sailors Venus, Moon and Mini Moon have been any more outraged. The three stood grudgingly behind the altar that Uranus would soon be standing on, alternately glaring at the beaming Queen Serenity, at the floating cameras that hovered about their faces, and exchanging furious looks with each other.

The noise was terrific, making even shouted speech impossible; trumpets were blaring non-stop, drums were pounding their deafening beats into every corner of the stadium, and the fact that every single fan was on their feet, each one seeming to be a participant in some sort of rowdiness contest, shouting and screaming and stamping their feet, various noisemakers in hand, the people of Uranus shooting up massive amounts of topaz sparks into the endless sky above them.

Serenity and Uranus stood with their backs facing the altar, the latter's smiling face made a hundred times larger by the massive floating screen above them, waving triumphantly at her supporters, calling out unheard things to them.

"What a hypocrite," muttered Venus, staring daggers into the back of Uranus' head, her eyes narrowed to slits. "After all that about not wanting to be in this tournament, she doesn't seem to have that much of an objection to this attention."

"My ears hurt!" whined Rini, pulling hard on Serena's trailing pigtails, pulling a pained face.

"Buy some earplugs," growled Sailor Moon, who had been forced to hold a golden tray with a magnificent bouquet of flowers that Uranus would be presented with, irritably jerking her hair out of her daughter's grip and sticking her tongue out at her. "I don't want to be here anymore than you."

Venus threw Serena a glowering look. "This is ridiculous. Why didn't you leave me unconscious? Then I wouldn't be standing here right now."

Sailor Moon opened her mouth to respond, but at that same moment, Serenity raised her Moon Rod above her head and shot an armada of silver sparks rocketing towards the sky, effectively silencing the crowd for the first time in half an hour.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she called, her voice magically magnified once more. "Thank you all for your patience! A tournament is not a tournament without fans, and you have all ensured that we had no shortage of support!

"The moment our contestants have been waiting for, however, has arrived; the upgraded senshipen will be, as promised, awarded to the strongest most persevering Sailor Soldier in the Solar System, the Soldier who proved that they were unmatchable when it came to combat, both close-quarters and magical.

"After several upsets and numerous exciting battles, the winner has been determined! Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, the leader of the Outer Scouts and champion of the Tournament of the Sacred Ten, Sailor Uranus!"

"Oh, please," growled Venus, rolling her eyes as the crowd went absolutely berserk, leaping to their feet and cheering as loud as they could, screaming themselves hoarse, hollering their approval to the Soldier of Sky, jumping up and down and hurling bouquets of flowers and banners at the victor, whose smile widened as she jumped onto the raised altar, effectively blocking Mini Moon from view.

"Yes!" shouted Uranus, throwing her head back and punching the air in triumph. _"YES!"_

Rini started to clap, but stopped when she saw the looks on Serena and Venus' faces. Serenity drifted forwards, her hands raised above her head, and in between them hovered an orb of almost blinding silver light, about the size of Rini's robotic cat head, Luna-P. The Queen stepped on the altar beside Uranus and nodded to Sailor Moon, who, looking like she was about to scream, took a stiff step forwards, thrusting the tray out from her chest and jabbed it so close to Uranus that it was an inch from her nose. Taking a step backwards, Uranus took the bouquet off of the tray and punched the air victoriously with them, her even white teeth glittering in the artificial light of the stadium.

"Uranus," murmured Serenity, lowering her hands so that the orb hovered at chest level, her lilac eyes reflecting its glistening light. "You're senshipen, please."

The Outer Scout obediently produced her senshipen, a graceful-looking stick that had a starry blue orb on its top end, atop which sat a small star engraved with the planetary sign for Uranus. Serenity moved her hands from either side of the orb, and it drifted forwards, swallowing Uranus' senshipen. It instantly shrunk to form a sort of opaque second skin around the device, but before the light had dispersed, Serenity nodded once and murmured, "Transform, if you'd like. The phrase is, _Uranus Galactical Power, Make-Up!"_

Uranus nodded, forcing the senshipen above her head and shouting, "URANUS GALACTICAL POWER, MAKE UP!"

Even though they were each mentally listing off the forms of torture they would rather endure than standing here, Sailors Moon, Venus and Mini Moon could not keep themselves from glancing up to see what Uranus' upgraded form would look like. The moment the Outer Scout said the last word, however, two things happened at once. With a deafening boom, a massive bolt of jagged onyx lightning lashed out from the sky and struck Uranus, who was lost in its depths, while Serenity's thin form shuddered and swayed, and, almost like a scene from a horror movie, her skin and clothes fell away from her body, revealing a wraith-like woman with lime green skin and sheathed in a low cut, form-fitting dress that may have been constructed of her curling jet-black hair.

Venus' eyes widened in horror, while Mini Moon staggered backwards, screaming, "WAH!" and Sailor Moon tripped and fell hard on her back, her face frozen in a mask of horror, wide blue eyes reflected the lightning that was still savaging Uranus, which, at that moment, dispersed.

All three Sailor Soldiers gasped in horror; the Soldier of Sky seemed to have been bathed in a translucent black substance, casting an eternal shadow over her skin and dying her sandy blonde hair deepest black. Her eyes had turned from dancing blue to poisoned yellow, devoid of pupil, and her bodice, skirt, shoes, bows and tiara, like her hair, had been dyed black, the topaz set in her tiara replaced by an gleaming oval of onyx. Shadowy wings protruded from the back of her uniform, not unlike those that accompanied Eternal Sailor Moon, and her genial face had been contorted into a ferocious snarl.

"Get her!" snarled the woman who, until moments ago, had taken on the form of Queen Serenity. Immediately, Uranus lunged forwards, her hands curled into rigid claws as she flew towards Sailor Moon, but with a scream of, "NO!" Venus matched the Outer Scout's speed and flung herself onto the altar, shoving Sailor Moon forcibly off the platform, splayed ludicrously in mid-air, eyes huge with horror-

Uranus slammed into Venus with crushing force, and the moment they made contact, the pair vanished with an ear-splitting crack and flash of white light. The audience had exploded into life once more, but they were not cheering; their approving screams had turned to shrieks of terror, and in one massive motion they leapt to their feet, swarming like a massive wave of flesh towards the various exits that would lead to the stairwell, the noise so loud that the air pulsed.

The fake-Serenity turned her gaze upon the splayed Serena and frozen Mini Moon, a fearsome expression upon her face. Raising one hand and beckoning at them with one index finger, she snarled in a horrible, rasping voice with a twisted, demonic counterpart, "Come on, Sailor Soldiers. Fight m- "

"PLUTO DEADLY _SCREAM!"_

"SILENCE GLAIVE SURPRISE!"

"NEPTUNE DEEP SUBMERGE!"

With a supernova-class explosion of noise, orbs of violent purple and deepest blue light, accompanied by a mass of jagged onyx light, rocketed forwards and slammed into the back f the daemon with enough force to create a sizable gorge in the moon. The woman gave an ear-splitting scream, her limbs flying out to breaking point, and before she could be blasted off her feet, she vanished in a burst of red light, her scream, mingling with those of thousands of others, the only thing left in her wake.

Sailors Moon and Mini Moon were still frozen, their mouths wide open in screams of horror that no one could hear, and they only snapped out of their comatose states when Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Mars, Jupiter and Mercury sprinted into view, all of them coming to resounding halts before them, each gasping for breath.

"Sailor Moon!" cried Mars and Mercury, rushing forwards and pulling the Moon Princess to her feet, while Jupiter placed her hands on Rini's shoulders, checking to make sure she was okay.

"Speak to me!" Mars whispered, shaking Serena roughly by the shoulders, while Mercury snapped her fingers in front of the Moon Princess' face. Sailor Moon, however, could only shake her head in mute horror, her eyes still gaunt and staring.

"Uranus!" wailed Neptune, sinking to her knees and digging her knuckles into the cloth-covered altar, her eyes clenched shut, not quite able to stem the flow of her tears. "W-Where is she?"

"Her and Serenity," murmured Saturn, shaking her head, her large violet eyes scanning the arena.

"Where's Venus?" Pluto asked sharply, her dark red eyes widening in shock as she realized the Soldier of Love was nowhere to be seen. "Serena? What happened to her?"

The look on the Moon Princess' face, however, was answer enough. The Sailor Soldiers exchanged looks of utmost horror, the silence broken only by Neptune's agonized sobs.

_Serenity, Uranus and Venus. Gone, _the Sailors thought in unison, united by their shock, all of them appalled at what their afterthoughts were.

_Forever?_

* * *

Quite the twist, eh? Hopefully, no one's disappointed with the turn the story's taken. For those of you who are still interested, an update's coming soon!


	7. The Aftermath

It was a ludicrous thing, for a place that had been teeming with life and energy for several hours straight could become a deserted stadium echoing with the screams of a thousand terrified fans in less than two minutes. Garbage littered the massive circular stadium, the altar on which the fake Serenity had presented Uranus with her upgraded senshipen had been turned over and had been blackened by the lightning that had swallowed Uranus, a thick pillar of smoke twisting and furling as it rose up towards the sky. The remaining Sailor Soldiers composed themselves to drag the distraught Neptune and Serena upright and carried them back up to the balcony, all of them trapped in what they each regarded as a horrific dream.

"Serena, what happened?"whispered Mars, sitting down beside the sobbing Sailor Moon, clasping one hand in her own.

"You were watching, weren't you?" Mini Moon said, her arms folded across her chest, seeming to be the only one amongst the Soldiers who was not distraught at the recent events, and Jupiter and Mercury threw the youngest of their group disgusted looks.

"We couldn't see anything that closely from the balcony," Saturn said, patting Neptune on the back. "It looked like -"

"Nothing was as it looked," Pluto murmured, and everyone looked up at her, their gazes questioning. The Guardian of Time closed her eyes, her gloved hand clenching around her staff. "I'm sorry I left so abruptly during Uranus' battle. Please, let me explain.

"Serena...Mars...Mercury, Jupiter, Rini...I had a vision at the end of my first battle, against Mars. A shadowy figure warned me that everything was about to change, and there was nothing I could do about it. I told Uranus, Neptune and Saturn about this, but we decided that there was nothing we could do about it at that time. And so the tournament continued, with nothing strange happening until my fight against Uranus.

"My abrupt departure must have looked suspicious, but if I had stayed to explain myself we would be even farther behind than we are now. Allow me to explain...

**The Semi Final**

Pluto sprinted forwards, her eyes narrowed to slits that were fixed unblinkingly upon Uranus, Garnet Rod drawn over her shoulder, preparing to KO the Soldier of Sky. With a savage cry, she made to sweep her staff through the air, but suddenly, she was no longer standing in an arena packed with screaming, adrenaline-pumped fans, but in a foggy plain with an endless grey sky hanging above it. The only break in the bleakness were the set of massive marble doors before her, large gems and strange symbols inscribed in its surface. The Space-Time Door.

Sprinting towards it, however, was a lime green daemon with rippling black hair, cackling insanely as she passed through the fog.

With a gasp of utmost horror, Pluto wrenched herself back into the present all thoughts of the tournament forgotten, and, twirling her Garnet Rod above her head, she slammed it forcefully on the ground before her with a deafening explosion of noise, and a ring of blood red light burst off her Garnet Orb, changing her surroundings instantly into the foggy field that was Limbo.

"I don't think so, trespasser!" shouted Pluto, sprinting after the daemon's retreating form.

"Huh?" said the woman, looking bewilderedly over her shoulder, onyx eyes huge with surprise. "What's this?"

"PLUTO DEADLY SCREAM!" shouted Pluto, and she was instantly obscured by a mass of glittering, swirling winds, while her Garnet Orb shone brighter than ever. With a graceful twirl Pluto slashed her staff through the air, and an orb of dark purple light exploded into existence with a uneartheal scream. The orb sprinted towards the daemon at a speed that put light to shame, but to her horror, the woman gave an insane cackle and, with a slash of her wrist, caused her Deadly Scream to vanish in a burst of violet light. The daemon then retaliated by shooting a concentrated jet of onyx energy sprinting towards her, but Pluto, adept at dodging because of her battles with Uranus and Mars, somersaulted forwards to avoid it and popped fluently to her feet the moment the jet rocketed overhead. She was less than ten strides away now, and was able to make out every malicious detail of her opponent's face, features that were obscured in a burst of roaring flame that rocketed towards her with impossible speed, too fast for her to have time to even think about dodging.

With a ferocious roar, the mass of furling flame collided with the Guardian of Time, who let out an agonized scream as raw, burning flames clawed at her body, enveloping her in a flaming cocoon that vanished in less than two seconds, but in those two seconds, they managed to inflict more pain on her then Mars and Uranus had managed to deal her put together. Bruised and burned, her whole body screaming for release, Pluto collapsed onto the unforgiving ground with crushing force, bouncing several feet before coming to a complete halt. A gasp of pain escaped her lips, and though her every muscle turned against her as she tried to do so, the Outer Scout forced herself upright, driving herself to keep going, to push through these odds that were stacked against her.

The daemon smirked, amused. "So, you aren't done yet, eh? I gotta hand it to you, not many people can take on that heat and live to tell about it. Oh well, that means -"

"Chronos...Typhoon," whispered Pluto, staggering to her feet. With a demonic scream, a positive tornado of swirling winds enveloped her form, cackling with lethal magical energy, and with a slash of her staff she sent them sprinting forwards, taking on the form of a giant, demonic eagle, its beak open impossibly wide, the winds so forceful that they threatened to toss both the Guardian of Time and her daemon opponent backwards through the air-

But with a noise like an atomic bomb exploding, her Typhoon rebounded off a newly-appeared wall of translucent green energy and rammed back into her, so forceful it could have destroyed half the Moon Kingdom. Pluto's scream was lost as she was savaged by her own attack, her form rebounding off walls of pain, jagged bolts of onyx energy assaulting her form, contorting her into grotesque displays of pain, unable to endure the torture-

The hellish eternity dragged her to the brink of death, but it eventually ended, leaving the Outer Scout in a burned, battered and bleeding heap. Agony still tore through her, clawing at her lungs with each breath she took, all of her strength had left her, abandoning her in this, her greatest time of need. Gasping down air, Pluto's mind, which had been reduced to a bleak and tortured expanse of blackness, was suddenly assaulted by an image that was just as horrible as the pain she had just endured.

The daemon who had deflected her most powerful attack with apparent ease was laughing at her, her thin arms spread wide, rippling black hair flying out around her wraithlike form as the Gates of Time slid open behind her, filling Limbo with blindingly bright pink light, the chaotic howl of temporal winds deafening her.

"You lose, Sailor Pluto!" cackled the daemon, and with that, she melted into the blinding pink light, becoming nothing more than a thin silhouette, then nothing at all. The moment this happened, a new type of pain ripped through Pluto, the insurmountable agony of failure, knowing that she had been unable to carry out the duty charged to her by the guards, a job that she had forsaken to compete in a tournament of childish games-

The torment, it seemed, was not yet finished; her disembodied view of Limbo twisted and warped, melting and shifting and finally settling upon the arena that the Tournament of the Sacred Ten was set to take place in in two days' time.

_That makes no sense, _Pluto thought, incredulity breaking through her pain. _The tournament has already started, and yet-_

There was a lone figure in the participants' level of the stadium, a woman clothed in a magnificent white gown, soft lavender hair pulled into trailing pigtails that brushed the floor. Queen Serenity, standing alone on the white marble balcony, observing the workers who were putting the finishing touches on the stadium. Suddenly, a crack of pink light rent the air apart, and the daemon that had just attacked her appeared beside one of the many black couches placed about the room. Though her appearance was silent, Serenity had seen the flash of light out of the corner of her eye and half-turned, her lilac eyes widening in surprise as she took in the woman before her.

"What the-" gasped the Queen, her hand flying to her throat. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

_Don't ask questions, _Pluto begged of the Queen, furious at both the ruler of the Moon Kingdom's incompetence and her own incapacitation. _Just run!_

"You're worst nightmare," snarled the daemon, and she slashed one hand through the air, sending a bolt of crimson energy rocketing towards Serenity, but to Pluto's amazement, the Queen ducked just in time, her arms thrown over her head, a bewildered scream escaping her lips. Before she could straighten upright, the daemon sent a fleet of daggers sprinting forwards, whizzing sinisterly through the air, but Serenity defied the odds once more by producing her Moon Rod from out of nowhere and conjuring up a half-sphere of translucent silver light out of nowhere, absorbing the daggers in its depths before vanishing in a burst of glistening dust.

With a ferocious snarl, the daemon turned sharply on the spot and reappeared behind Serenity, who did not turn fast enough to parry the streak of cackling purple light the daemon unleashed upon her. With a small explosion of noise the Queen was blasted forwards so forcefully that she sent two couches and a coffee table flying, slamming into the metallic blue walls with an awful crunching sound. Serenity slid downwards, collapsing on the floor in a limp heap, though her lilac eyes were open a crack, alight with horror as she stared at the daemon with some difficultly, her breathing turned shallow and ragged.

The daemon bent down and picked up Serenity's Moon Rod, which had flown out of her hand when she was blasted backwards, a malicious smile upon her face as she twirled the crescent-topped rod between her fingers. "One Silver Crystal down, two to go," she snarled, walking towards the injured Queen. "I do hope the other members of the royal family are as easy to capture as you." And with that, she gave the Rod a sharp flick and caused a streak of silver light to explode out of the Silver Crystal atop it, and it slammed into Serenity, who vanished in a burst of silver sparks.

The moment the Queen vanished, the green skinned woman raised the Moon Rod above her head and caused a thick trail of opal light to flow down from it, enveloping her thin form. A flash of white light exploded off her form, and when it cleared, a double of Queen Serenity was standing in the daemon's place, only distinguishable from the real Queen because of the malicious smile upon her face, one that would surely never appear upon the real Serenity's face.

_No, _thought Pluto, returning to her body, but the horror of what she had just witnessed threatened to plunge her into blackness. _I must...warn...the others. No one is...safe._

And so, with a Herculean effort, she had teleported back to the Moon Kingdom.

**The Present**

"So that wasn't Serenity at all?" Saturn whispered, her tone one of revulsion as Pluto completed her story. The silence was such that an onlooker would have thought that the Sailor Soldiers were mourning the loss of a particularly close loved one, which, in a way, they were. Three loved ones.

"How is that possible?" Mercury murmured, shaking her head, and despite the severity of the situation, she failed to neglect being intrigued.

Pluto shrugged, the ancient sadness that haunted her dark red eyes more pronounced than usual. "A time paradox," she whispered, her gloved hand clenching around her staff. "It is the reason travelling through time is so dangerous, why Serenity was so fierce about making sure it was never done. And I -"she clenched her eyes shut, not quite able to stem the flow of her tears, lips trembling violently. "I have failed. I was charged with guarding the Gates of Time, to protect it from Dark forces, and I have let one slip through."

Silence was absolute, mingling with awful sorrow, for no one had ever seen Sailor Pluto let herself display this much emotion before. Before anyone could try to comfort her, the Guardian of Time's eyes snapped open, as dry as ever, no evidence that she had just allowed herself to cry.

"What's done cannot be undone," she said, her soft, mysterious voice quieter than usual. Raising her head to gaze at each Soldier in turn, she continued in an almost thoughtful voice. "That daemon who presented Uranus with that 'upgraded' senshipen has managed to turn one of our strongest fighters against us, and taken both her and Venus to a place we cannot follow." Her gaze rested upon Serena and Rini, the latter who was sitting on her mother's lap, patting her arm in a rare display of sympathy. "Her goal is, as you heard, to gather all three Silver Crystals, for an unknown purpose, though we can be sure it is a malicious one. Her and her superiors will most likely stop at nothing to get their hands on them, as well as capturing the other members of the royal family.

"When Venus pushed you out of Uranus' way, Serena, there is no doubt in my mind when I say that she probably saved your life."

Terrified was a word rarely applicable to Sailor Venus. Helpless and alone were also rarely used in her vicinity. But right now, all three were clamouring for the top spot in the turmoiled mass that was her feelings.

One second, she had been suspended in mid-air, in that act of pushing Sailor Moon out of Uranus' way, the next, she was sitting in a cold, pitch-black stone cell, completely alone, the only company her ragged breaths bouncing off the walls around her.

_How did this happen? _She asked herself for the umpteenth time in so many minutes. _What happened back there with Serenity? What did she do to Uranus?_

Or rather, the daemon who had disguised itself as Serenity; the Soldier of Love was hard-pressed to believe that the Queen of the Moon had been an evil daemon for her reign over the Moon Kingdom. Somehow, the tournament had been a set-up, a twisted scheme orchestrated by Dark forces from beginning to end.

_At least Serena and Rini are safe, _thought Venus, a bitter half-smile playing about her lips. _I've fulfilled my duty as an Inner Scout, at least. Mars and Mercury and Jupiter will continue to protect them. _Then, after a moment's silence, _Listen to me! I sound like I'm about to die! I'm going to find a way out of this, and when I do, I'll find whoever's behind this and make them pay._

Suddenly, muffled voices sounded from directly across from her, emanating from the other side of her stone cell. Her breath catching in her throat, Venus scrambled upright, staggering forwards like a blind woman, groping blindly through the blackness until she found the cold stone wall before her. Pressing an ear against it, she heard the tail end of a raspy voice's sentence.

"-can't believe Hyperion managed to capture the Moon Princess."

Another person snorted, this one sounding female. "I'm just as shocked as you are," she hissed, her elegant voice as cold as ice. "No one thought she'd succeed. That makes her two for two, I guess. She's got the Queen and her daughter."

"Don't forget the Sailor Soldier who won the tournament," the first voice rasped. "She managed to turn whoever won it onto our side."

The woman snorted her agreement, then, a slight snap in her voice, said harshly, "No more talking. Doom Entity warned us of what would happen if we let the Moon Princess escaped, so we need to keep our minds on the job."

The raspy-voiced man grunted his agreement, and silence fell on the other side of the wall. Venus kept her ear pressed against the cold stone for a moment longer, but then, realizing that that was the most she could hope to glean from her captured state, shoved herself away from the wall, sliding onto the cold floor, her head in her hands, listening to the rhythmical drip of water falling from the ceiling.

_They think they've caught the real Moon Princess? _She thought, incredulous at this development. _But...come on. Serena was right there, the daemon saw when I pushed her out of the way! And Uranus...Uranus must have realized she took the wrong Soldier with her. She's got to know that._

_But maybe, _offered a small voice in her head, smug at its own observation. _Maybe since she's been possessed, her judgement's been impaired. If the daemon didn't realize Uranus made a mistake before she teleported back with us, then maybe she didn't either._

Resolved flared in Venus' chest, blossoming from a single flame to a raging inferno in less than a second, warding off the fear and hopelessness that had been threatening to engulf her with its light. _If that's the case, my duty as an Inner Scout hasn't been fulfilled. If they find out I'm not Serena, not only will they kill me, they'll send someone out to capture the real Sailor Moon. I've got to convince these freaks that they've got the real Moon Princess in order to protect Serena._

Immediately, she reached for her hair, which she began to divide into two groups, and she fumbled through the darkness, doing all she could to disguise herself as Sailor Moon; she pulled her hair into pigtails, curling them at the end to make them look more like Serena's, altering her tiara so that it did not bear the golden gem that marked her as Sailor Venus, and pulling out the red hair bow she always wore and fixing it to the back of her skirt, while pulling out her original blue bow and pulling it into a long ribbon that she used to transform her orange skirt into a blue one.

Knowing that the real Uranus would see through her disguise almost instantly, Venus prayed to the gods that the Outer Scout's judgement would be impaired enough not to recognize her.

The solidity of her disguise, however, was about to be tested; she heard, in a muffled but still very frightening way, Uranus' voice sound from the other side of her cell.

"Let me pass," snarled the Outer Scout, her low, very near masculine voice now fitted with a warped, demonic counterpart, sending a shiver of fear running down her spine.

The female guard snorted in amusement. "Why would we do that, smoky?"

Venus winced as the sickening sound of flesh hitting stone sounded from the other side of her cell. "Because I said so," snarled Uranus, her two-part voice ringing with menace.

"O-k," the female choked out, struggling for breath, and Venus heard two pairs pounding feet tear away from her cell, signifying her guards' retreat. Struggling to retain her calm, the Soldier of Love clasped her hands beneath her chin, clenching her eyes shut, praying that her disguise would work.

From behind her closed lids, she saw the blackness of her cell lift, replaced by dim, flickering light. The Inner Scout opened her eyes, and was unnerved to see Uranus standing there, her cell still doorless and pristine, no evidence as to how she got in present. The Soldier of Sky's arms were folded across her chest, still looking as though a permanent, smoky shadow was hovering over her, black flames twisting and furling as they emanated off her form.

Venus did her best to look unconcerned. "What?" she demanded, her voice low, fierce, hopefully sounding disdainful.

Uranus' pupilless yellow eyes flashed ominously. "You know what," she whispered, deadly quiet.

The Soldier of Love raised her eyebrows coldly. "Do I?"

Uranus' lips twisted into a fearsome snarl, displaying bared white teeth. "Where is it?" she snarled, her gloved hands curling into fists.

"Where's what?"Venus asked, feigning bewilderment, though she had a shrewd idea as to what the Outer Scout was talking about. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears, making it difficult to think, fear paralyzing her in her slumped position against the wall.

"The Silver Crystal," Uranus whispered, taking a step forwards, her voice's harsh counterpart shaking with suppressed rage at the game she was playing. "Hand it over."

Venus shook her head, a mirthless, taunting smile twisting her lips. "Never," she whispered, just as quiet as Uranus, and for once she was telling the truth, for she could no sooner have given Uranus Sailor Moon's power source then gotten out of her cell.

A growl of inhumane rage escaped Uranus' lips, and she took another menacing step forwards, poisoned yellow eyes narrowing to slits. "Give it to me," she demanded, standing over Venus, glaring down at her, while the Inner Scout glared defiantly back at her, her mouth a hard line.

"No," she whispered, and her heart pounded louder in her chest, throwing itself against her ribcage as though determined to explode out of it, sensing a danger her conscious self did not. "You can go straight to hell."

Uranus let out a feral shriek, clenching her fists so hard that her knuckles threatened to tears through her gloves. "Give me the Silver Crystal, Sailor Moon!" she shouted, her enraged voice echoing off the walls of her prison.

"No!" Venus shouted, leaping to her feet, her hands balled into fists, every muscle tensed, refusing to break eye contact with Uranus.

"NOW, SAILOR MOON!"

"MAKE ME!"

And suddenly, so fast she had no idea how it happened, pain was tearing through Venus, pain that put the torment Uranus had inflicted on her back in the final round to shame. A scream of absolute agony was wrenched from her lips, echoing off the walls, her back arching to breaking point, feeling as though her every nerve was on fire, that her blood had turned to acid, she had been blinded by agony, her vision reduced to a glowing, throbbing red, deafened by her own screams, suspended a foot off the ground, twisting herself into rigid displays of agony, Uranus somehow managing to make herself heard over her shrieks.

"GIVE ME THE SILVER CRYSTAL!" she roared, and with each word she increased the intensity of the pain she inflicted on her, and by the time she finished her sentence, Venus' screams had grown so high-pitched that she was certain that soon only bats would be able to hear her. It was madness, that her fellow Sailor Soldier could be doing this to her, possessed or not, she should have been appalled at what she was doing, that it was possible to inflict so much torture upon another living creature. Venus could not think, could not breath; she could only scream, pleading with whatever gods there were to release her, to kill her, because she would never give Uranus what she wanted, nor would Uranus relent until she broke, and death was an eternity away, separated from her by a sea of agony she would have to cross-

All there was, all there ever had been, was this pain, torture that Venus forced herself to endure, for she knew that the minute it ended, Sailor Moon's life would be plunged back into danger.

But how did you endure something impossible?

Suddenly, the pain ended. Venus fell onto the ground face-first, an inch from death, tethered to the living world by an agonizing thread, her whole body screaming for release, head ringing with her own shrieks, and each beat of her heart brought with it an electric shock of pain. Weak and shuddering, Venus lay on the blissfully cool floor, listening to her own ragged breaths, amazed that she was still alive. In a strange, disembodied way, she knew what had happened; Uranus had sensed that she could not break her, and was contemplating her next course of action.

A weak, spluttering laugh escaped her lips, madness that had been born of the torture she had just endured. Raising her tear-streaked face an inch off the cold stone floor, she glared at Uranus through blurry, over-bright blue eyes and whispered, "Y-you'll have t-to kill m-me...if you w-want...that crystal."

Uranus face was twisted with hatred, her glowing yellow eyes penetrating the blackness like a lighthouse in the night. "Oh, I will kill you," she whispered, but her voice's demonic counterpart seemed to have overpowered her real voice, so that she was more demonic than ever. "But first, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

The Soldier of Sky seized her roughly by the hair and dragged her upright, wrenching a strangled gasp of pain from her lips. Venus' head gave an excruciating throb, her dimly-lit surroundings had been reduced to a swirling vortex, she felt like she was about to be sick, and she felt herself being dragged forwards, her hair threatening to come out at the roots, strangled cries of pain escaping her lips. Suddenly, they were no longer in her dimly-lit cell, but in a cavernous room whose true dimensions she could only guess because the walls were all obscured by dark shadows, and the room seemed to open up to the heavens, star-strewn and littered with strange clouds of neon light. Every once and a while, a flash of blood red lightning would rent the blackness apart.

"My lord," Uranus whispered, her normal voice more dominant than her warped counterpart now. "This is the Moon Princess."

Venus' vision settled enough for her to observe her surroundings in greater detail. The room, which she had previously thought to be empty, housed a massive throne, much like a strange rock formation, composed of what looked like brownish red, bright green and onyx black wax, for the chair had a melting look to it. Multicoloured flames twisted and furled as they rose off the top of the formation, and it took the Soldier of Love a minute to realize that there was actually someone sitting in the throne.

"Well done," rasped the chair's occupant, in a rough, cold voice like shattered ice. "Did she give you the crystal?"

"No," Uranus said, bowing her head in apology, giving Venus a little shake by the hair and causing her to cry out in pain. "She's been stubborn."

The one in the throne let out a harsh, cackling laugh and rose slowly to their feet, revealing itself to be an unusually tall figure sheathed in a ragged grey robe, its hood pulled low over its face, giving him the frightening appearance of a ghost. "That's no problem," he snarled, taking slow steps forwards, his footsteps echoing off the walls of the cavernous throne room. "We can wait. It will only be a matter of time until the three Silver Crystals have fallen into my grasp," he paused for a second, noticing something. "Where is the third? I was under the impression that the Moon Princess has a daughter?"

Uranus bowed her head once more, her fist tightening around her hair, and Venus struggled and kicked, her face screwed up against the needle-like pain. "I didn't get a chance to reach her," she murmured ruefully.

The figure cocked its head to the side, his slanting, blood red eyes now visible from beneath his hood, flashing ominously. "Then I have a new assignment for you, Knightmare. Go back to the Moon Kingdom and capture the third member of the royal family. Kill the other Sailor Soldiers if you have to; the gods know they show up at the most unfortunate times."

"N-No!" Venus shouted, her hands flying up to her head, tugging hard at Uranus' iron grip on her hair, while she twisted and kicked in a violent attempt to wrench herself free. "Not Rini! I won't let you take her!"

The shrouded figure let out a high, cold laugh, one that effectively paralysed her, turning her blood to ice and echoing off the walls of the massive throne room. "Be quiet, Moon Princess," he hissed, shaking back his long sleeve back from his hand, revealing a skeletal thin, rotting grey hand, and he snapped his claw-like figures at Uranus, causing her to throw Venus bodily from her, wrenching out a couple strands of her hair as she did so. Venus collided with the freezing cold floor with resounding force, skidding across it before coming to a halt at the hem of the hooded figure's robe. With a gasp of pain, Venus struggled to her feet, her fists clenched and, glaring up at the shadowy depths of the figure's face, she shouted, "VENUS! LOVE AND B-"

"_NO!" _Uranus shouted, and with a deafening crack of sound, Venus was flat on her back, rolling and twisting and screaming herself hoarse as the unendurable agony returned once more, determined to wreck as much havoc through her body as possible-

"STOP!" thundered the shrouded figure, and as suddenly as it had started, the pain ceased, surrendering Venus to the cold floor and her own wild breaths, coughing and choking, her entire form heaving with each breath, her eyes clenched shut against her tears.

_No signs of weakness, _she told herself meticulously. _You've got to hold out as long as you can._

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't torture our guest, Knightmare," the hooded figure said coldly, venom dripping from his raspy voice. "She's rather important, if you didn't already know that."

Uranus dropped to one knee, one hand held over her blackened heart. "I'm so-" she began, but the figure waved a shrouded hand, effectively silencing her.

"I don't have time for your apologies," he snarled, folding his arms across his chest. "Go and find the last member of the royal family, Knightmare, are the quicker the better."

Uranus straightened up, looking more frightening than other because of the look of cold, determined fury upon her face. "I'll see to it, Doom Entity," she vowed, and without another word, she vanished in a flash of violet light.

The Doom Entity, as Uranus had called him, turned his attention to Venus, who could only glare at him out of slitted eyes, enough pain still tearing through her to last her another millennium. "There's no need to lie on the floor," he whispered with another bone-chilling laugh, and he slashed his hand through the air, causing Venus' limp form to rise several feet off the ground, and with an almost musical tinkling sound, a large sphere of starry sapphire light appeared around her, a bubble like prison that was a thousand times stronger than it looked. "I don't want my guests to be uncomfortable! Why, look at your companion!"

With an effort that felt like it would kill her, Venus raised her aching head off the bottom of her spherical prison and stared out of its sparkling surface with some difficultly. It was true, there was another cage, identical to her own, directly across from her, but it was difficult for her to recognize the occupant.

_White, _she thought sluggishly, feeling as though she were struggling to do a very complicated math problem when she was half-asleep. _A white dress. Now, who do I know -? _She stopped dead, her eyes widening in horror as she placed the dress. _Oh no. This can't be._

All pain and weariness forgotten, Venus scrambled upright, pressing her hands against the side of her spherical prison, reeling as the woman in the cage across from her came into sharper view. Her lilac eyes were mirroring the horror that was no doubt etched in her own, her face wore a heartbreakingly anguished expression, and her clenched fists were beating themselves against the side of her prison, shouting unheard things at her, desperate to make herself heard.

The real Queen Serenity, in just as grave danger as herself.

Venus' jaw dropped, and she spun around, throwing herself against the other side of her prison, her gaze fixed furiously upon the Doom Entity. "NO!" she shouted, pounding her fists upon her sphere's curving side. _"NO! _LET HER GO, OR I SWEAR I'LL -"

But the hooded figure merely laughed, throwing back his head and shaking with mirth that Venus could not hear; clearly, he could hear her demands no better than she could hear what Serenity was saying. Shaking with fury, Venus closed her eyes and turned back around, sliding onto the bottom of her prison, holding her head in her hands.

_What in the names of the gods is going on here?_

The Moon Kingdom was, for once in its four-plus millennia history, silent.

All the people who had come to watch the tournament had fled back to their home planets, terrified of the events of the awards ceremony, and the people of the Moon Kingdom had shut themselves away in their houses, not so much as a squeak emanating out from behind their doors.

The remaining Sailor Soldiers had managed to drag themselves away from the stadium the Tournament of the Sacred Ten had taken place and relocated themselves to the palace. Or rather, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn and Mini Moon did; they were forced to literally drag Neptune and Serena out of the massive arena and deposited them in the massive throne room of the palace, a room that was, for once, silent.

They sat there for the gods only knew how long, not eating, not talking, simply _existing, _blasted into near catatonic states at the disappearances of Serenity, Venus and Uranus. The only light came from the vast chandelier overhead, reflecting the silver light that emanated off of the moon like heat off the sun. Sailors Moon, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn and Mini Moon lay slumped against the wall, the Moon Princess' sobs echoing off the cavernous marble walls, cradling her head in her hands, her daughter patting her softly on the shoulder while her dark red eyes sparkled with tears, too young to really comprehend what was happening.

There had always been a plan, a course of action they could take or fall back on when a real crisis struck. But for once, there was nothing they could do, the startling events of the awards ceremony too drastic, too unexpected for them to formulate a counter attack. And even if they could, how could you combat something you could not find?

Never, in the history of the Sailor Soldiers, had they been rendered so helpless, so defeated.

Sailor Pluto stood by the massive golden doors that marked the entrance to the palace, completely still, her Garnet Orb glowing as brightly as the sun, its red light casting weird shadows on the walls, muttering to herself in a strange, alien language. Though she said not a word to any of the other Soldiers, they knew that she was searching for a way to teleport them to the place Uranus had taken Venus.

Neptune had composed herself just enough to stand on the opposite side of the door Pluto was, staring unblinkingly into her Deep Aqua Mirror, her beautiful face etched with sorrow, oceanic blue eyes haunted with an anguish that was not unlike the one that lingered about the Guardian of Time's. It too, was common knowledge that the Soldier of the Ocean was looking out for Uranus.

Mars had vanished the moment she deposited Serena in the throne room, a wild determination on her face that warned the others not to follow her. She shut herself in one of the antechambers of the throne room, and through the crack in the door they could see heavily perfumed smoke twisting and furling into the cavernous marble room in which they were waiting, as well as the flicker and cackle of flames, and over that, they could hear the Soldier of Fire's muffled chanting.

There was no doubt in any of their minds that she was looking out for Venus.

And though it was indescribably infuriating to them that neither Pluto nor Neptune nor Mars had made any headway in their search, or shared what was happening with the others, they were almost grateful for it; the fact that they were still searching meant that they were still alive – for the time being, at least – and though none of them wanted to admit it, all of the Soldiers were convinced that any news Mars or Neptune brought them would be one of a mortality.

After what could have been several years, the catatonic state that had fallen over the Soldiers like a fog lifted, shattered apart when Sailor Moon jumped to her feet as abruptly as if she had been shocked.

"Rini," she murmured, her voice hoarse from more or less crying non-stop for at least one full day. "It's not helping anyone sitting on the floor. It's time we get to bed."

Mini Moon, who under normal circumstances probably would have gotten into a brawl with Serena for her request, but today she pushed herself to her feet in a weary sort of way, her pale face drawn with sorrow, and nodded slowly, dragging her feet after the Moon Princess, who disappeared through the wrought golden door beside the one Mars had locked, and the remains of the royal family were gone.

"What's with her?" Jupiter muttered, raising her eyebrows, the dead look in her eye lifting slightly as a glimmer of interest flashed through them at Sailor Moon's abrupt departure.

"I don't know," Mercury said wearily, resting her head against the cold marble wall behind her, looking a hundred years old as she let her eyes slide closed. "She's probably tired, and what she said was true, you know; we're not helping anyone by sitting here."

Not long after, Mercury and Jupiter departed the throne room, dragging their feet as they followed Sailor Moon's example, leaving Saturn alone on the floor. The Messiah of Silence stared at the door they had slipped through through slightly narrowed eyes, a feeling of inexplicable unease creeping through her.

_There's nothing wrong, _she told herself sternly, trying to quiet the warning voice in her head. _If anyone was in any danger, Pluto or Neptune or Mars would know. They're practically living radar right now. Nothing evil's gonna try to take on eight Sailor Soldiers right now-_

And yet, she could not shake off the feeling that somehow, everything was about to go horribly wrong, even more wrong than things were right now.

"You know what?" Saturn murmured, leaping to her feet and snatching up her Silence Glaive, casting a glance at Pluto and Neptune, neither of whom made any gesture to acknowledge that she had moved. "I'm gonna go check on Serena and Rini."


	8. Prevailing Shadows

Just to clear things up, there's absolutely no hating going on between me and Sailor Venus. She and Pluto tie as my absolute favourite Sailor Senshi.

Also, I'd like to explain the time frame of the story. It takes place in a sort of alternate dimension (as you can see, because Queen Serenity and Sailor Mini Moon are both alive at the same time) and is in between the Sailor Moon Super S arc and Sailor Stars arc. All the events of the Dark Kingdom, Black Moon, Dead Moon and Dead Moon Circus took place in the Moon Kingdom as oposed to Earth (as you'll see in a small part of this chapter of the story).

Hope you all enjoy! (And sorry for the long time between updates!)

* * *

Saturn sprinted forwards, taking the winding marble stairs three at a time, the sound of her heavy footfalls and gasps for breath echoing off the cylindrical walls. Her heart was pounding a hundred times faster than ever before, for it, as did her subconsciousness, sensed something evil was afoot.

_But _what? Saturn asked herself, nearly tripping as she cleared yet another three stairs, clenching her teeth. _What's going to happen? What could possibly be about to go wrong?_

The answer, she knew, was near; at long last, she reached the top of the staircase, her footsteps still echoing off the wall. Forcing herself to keep her breathing silent, the Messiah of Silence slammed her shoulder against the slim golden door that marked the top of the winding staircase, her force carrying her several feet into the hallway beyond. Stumbling slightly, Saturn planted her feet in the flawless marble floor, holding her Silence Glaive diagonally across her body, sharp violet eyes scouring the passageway for something, _anything, _that was the threat she was searching for.

"Huh?" she said, straightening up when she realized the corridor was deserted. The marble walls were ornately carved, dozens of alcoves spaced evenly between bronze brackets fixed to the wall, casting glowing golden light throughout the corridor. Though any of the alcoves could have provided perfect cover for an intruder, a quick glance down the hallway showed that she truly was alone. At the opposite end, there was a set of wrought golden double doors, opened just a crack, allowing silver moonlight to seep through.

Saturn stood there for a split second, deliberating, then sprinted forwards, her footsteps clattering off the walls, making it seem like an army was chasing her. Skidding to a halt just in front of the door, the Outer Scout paused for a moment to catch her breath, then pressed her back against the door that was firmly shut, peering through the crack, one violet eye shut tight, but all she could see was a vast canopy bed with flowing, silvery white curtains.

"Serena?" whispered the Messiah of Silence, inching the door open. "Rini? Are you in there?"

No one answered, and if she were honest with herself, she hadn't been expecting someone to. She forced the door open with her shoulder, her eyes roving about the bedchamber's interior, and what she saw nearly made her scream.

The royal bedchamber was dedicated to a massive canopy bed, the one she had seen through the crack in the door. Its walls were carved so beautifully that it made her heart ache, and there was a large space in the wall opposite her that led out to a white marble balcony, the silvery light of the moon emanating in, almost blinding. At the moment, Saturn wasn't interested in the elegance of the room; her attention was focused solely on the person who was tensed in a half-crouch at the side of the vast bed, looking like an eternal shadow had passed over them, choking black smoke twisting off of her form, poisonous yellow eyes diverted temporarily from the canopy bed to glare murderously at Saturn.

"Uranus?" whispered the Messiah of Silence, completely stunned. "What the -?"

The rest of her sentence was cut off, however, for at a speed light could not hope to duplicate, Uranus flung herself through the air, crossing the distance between them in less than a second and danced around to her blind side, seizing her neck in the crook of her shadowy arm and covering her mouth with one gloved hand while pressing the side of her Space Sword against her throat with her other.

"Don't move," hissed Uranus, her low, very near masculine now mingling with a warped, harsh demonic counterpart.

"You wish," Saturn snarled, her response somewhat muffled by the Soldier of Sky's hand, and with a little grunt of effort she twirled her Silence Glaive through the air and rammed it through the space between her right arm and side with crushing force, the butt of her Glaive ramming into Uranus' abdomen with crushing force.

Grunting in pain, the possessed Soldier staggered backwards, and Saturn ducked out from underneath her arm, jumping high into the air and twisting herself into a backwards somersault kick. From a strange, upside-down angle, she saw Uranus skip backwards out of harm's way, and so she rounded out of her kick and landed heavily in a tense half-crouch, whirling around just in time to see Uranus' foot lash out of nowhere. With a bewildered cry, she leaped backwards while swinging her Silence Glaive through the air, and Uranus, who was not quick enough to dodge the attack, and with a sickening slicing sound a deep gash appeared in her cheek, crimson blood falling onto the marble floor like a rainstorm.

The encounter, which had been near-silent up until this point, was suddenly rent apart by Uranus' outraged scream, and with an inhumane fury upon her face she raised a hand above her head, clenching it around the orb of light that appeared above it, no longer burning topaz, but a violent onyx black.

"URANUS WORLD SHAKING!" shouted Uranus, slamming her fist downwards and causing her orb of light to rocket forwards, twenty times bigger than before. Eyes widening in utmost horror, Saturn slammed her Silence Glaive upon the ground before her, shouting, "SILENCE WALL!"

With a deafening cackle, a curving wall constructed of jagged bolts of onyx energy exploded into life before her, and the resulting explosion of Uranus' World Shaking colliding with her Silence wall was so loud that not only did Sailors Moon and Mini Moon awake with piercing screams, half of their bedroom roof collapsed, pelting the two Outer Scouts with rubble.

"NO!" screamed Mini Moon, leaping out of from under the canopy bed when she saw what was going on. "SATURN!"

"Uranus?" whispered Serena, her eyes huge with shock, as contrasting as possible to her daughter's outrage.

"Rini, get _away!" _shouted Saturn, opening her eyes a crack and trying to see through the blitz of light that was her Wall to look at Mini Moon. "It's too dangerous!"

"I WON'T LET YOU HURT ANY MORE OF US!" Rini shouted, running to Saturn's side, while Serena remained frozen in her bed, staring transfixed at Uranus, who had a cruel smile twisting her lips.

"Brave words, Small Lady," she whispered, slowly raising her Space Sword, which had also been turned black. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, and she raised her blade above her head, both gloved hands clenching its handle as she shouted, "SPACE SWORD _BLASTER!"_

"NO!"Saturn screamed, lifting her Silence Glaive up off the ground and leaping in front of Rini, spreading her arms and legs wide as she cried, "SILENCE W- _ARGH!"_

She cut herself off with a scream of utmost agony when Uranus' attack, made a hundred times more powerful than usual for the Dark energy that had her possessed, slammed into her, sending merciless tendrils of torture ripping through her, setting her every nerve on fire, her limbs stretched to breaking point. Through sheer willpower she kept herself on her feet, spread eagled, head tilted back as far as it could go, blinded by pain. Her scream mingled with those of furious denial that had been wrenched from the lips of Sailors Moon and Mini Moon, and with the one of deranged mirth that was coming from Uranus.

"Say goodnight, Sailor Saturn," cackled the possessed Outer Scout. "URANUS WORLD SHAKING!"

But with an outraged scream of denial, Mini Moon leapt out from behind Saturn, who had fallen to her knees, her form smoking slightly, and spread her arms wide, shielding her from view just as Uranus' World Shaking would have slammed into her. Just like what had happened with Saturn, Rini was not blasted back, but in a flash of blinding onyx light, Mini Moon fell limply to the ground, her endurance so much less than that of the other Sailor Soldiers, her smoking form covered in angry red burns.

"_NO!" _screamed Serena, leaping out of bed and shaking with fury as she sprinted to Saturn's side.

"Damn it, Rini," whispered the Outer Scout, struggling to her feet, clutching one arm as she glared murderously at Uranus out of one eye. "Why don't you ever listen?"

"SAILOR MOON!" came the united shouts of Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, Neptune and Pluto, all of whom skidded into the room in an anxious jumble, stopping dead when they saw the horrific scene before them.

Uranus shot forwards so fast her form appeared blurred, and in less than a second she had the unconscious Rini in her arms, her pink haired head lolling back on her shoulder, as helpless as a doll. Smiling evilly at Sailor Moon, Uranus winked mockingly and then, with a malicious cackle, vanished in a burst of violent purple light, vestiges of the black smoke that rose off of Uranus' form lingering about the room.

"_NOOO!" _screamed Serena, sprinting towards the place where Uranus and Rini had vanished and throwing herself onto her knees, pounding the rubble-strewn marble floor with her fists. _"RINI! COME BACK!"_

"Uranus?" Neptune whispered faintly, staggering into Mars, who caught her with one hand, dark eyes huge as she stared at the distraught Sailor Moon.

A single tear rolled down Saturn's cheek as she stared at the place where Uranus and Rini had vanished in a dead sort of way, but she was wrenched out of her horrified state when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. Pluto was sprinting forwards, concentration etched upon her face as she dashed around Sailor Moon in a small circle, unattatching her Garnet Orb from the rest of her Rod and swinging it about her, wisps of black smoke shooting into the glowing heart-shaped orb she was carrying.

"What are you doing?" Mercury asked, looking like she was struggling to keep herself from succumbing to tears.

"Saving Rini," Pluto replied cryptically, snapping her Garnet Orb back onto the top off her staff and swinging her sheet of jade hair out of her face, the sadness that haunted her dark red eyes more pronounced than usual as she turned to face her fellow Soldiers, her gaze settling upon the sobbing Serena, then flickering to Saturn, who nodded.

"Serena," she whispered, struggling to feet and placing a hand on Sailor Moon's back. "Get up."

"N-no!" wailed the Moon Princess, throwing the Messiah of Silence's hand off, beating the smooth ground with demented determination. "I w-won't leave! I've g-got to get t-to Rini!"

"Crying on the ground isn't gonna help her, Sailor Moon!" Mars said, tossing her long black hair over her shoulder and crouching beside Serena, an uncharacteristically soft expression upon her face. "We need a plan!"

"And I've got one," Pluto murmured, so that every eye instantly focused on her. Raising her Garnet Rod above her head, the Guardian of Time clenched her fist around it, causing her Orb to lighten and clear, revealing the bottled black smoke. "This smoke came from Uranus, or rather, Dark Uranus. By trapping it inside my Garnet Orb, we will be able to teleport to wherever she is right now. And we can be confident that wherever Uranus is, Serenity, Venus and Rini will be there too."

"Not to mention whoever's behind this," Jupiter added, punching one fist into the other, her dark green eyes narrowed menacingly, and Pluto nodded once.

"Right," Mercury said, stepping forwards, one hand clasped over her chest. "How are we going to get there?"

"With Sailor Teleport," Pluto murmured firmly, and the rest of the Soldiers exchanged sceptical looks.

"Don't we need everyone to do -" Mars began, but the Outer Scout cut across her.

"Any one of us could teleport at will," she murmured, to complete shock. "Only, the effort of doing so would kill you. The minimum amount of Soldiers needed to arrive alive is four, and as you can see, we have nearly double that. We may be a little more tired than usual, but that's the price we'll have to pay."

"Right," Neptune said, getting to her feet, resolve flaming in her eyes. "Let's do this. I'll do anything to save Sailor Uranus!"

"Count me in," Jupiter added, stepping forwards to stand beside the Soldier of the Ocean. "The creep responsible for this is gonna pay!"

In a massive movement, the rest of the Soldiers formed a loose circle in the ruined bedchambers, joining hands. Only Serena and Saturn remained in the middle, the latter's eyes narrowed and fixed upon the unmoving Moon Princess, willing her to stand up. "Come on, Serena," she whispered, extending a gloved hand towards their leader. "Rini'll be okay. All she's gotta do is hold out for a few more minutes, and then we'll be there to help her."

Sniffling softly, Sailor Moon raised her head, her dark blue eyes surprisingly dry. "You're right Saturn," she whispered, her voice hoarse as she allowed the Messiah of Silence to pull her to her feet. Wiping the tears from her cheeks on the back of her hand, she clasped one hand over her heart and threw her gaze up to the obscured heavens, whispering, "Hold tight, Rini. We're coming for you."

With that, Saturn and Serena joined the rest of the Soldiers, the Outer Scout joining hands with Neptune and Jupiter, while the Moon Princess took Mercury's and Pluto's in her own.

"I want you all to focus on my Garnet Orb," Pluto whispered, her soft, mysterious voice perfect for the tense atmosphere. "See it, and nothing else."

Everyone did so, though more than one felt stupid as they obliged to her command. Saturn tried hard to shut out all sarcastic thoughts as she stared unblinkingly at the wisps of smoke twisting and furling inside the Guardian of Time's talisman. Very slowly, a feeling of power rose through her, blossoming in her heart and spreading out towards the very tips of her fingers, and by the time they reached her head, a glittering amethyst glow had appeared around her form, much like the onyx smoke that lingered about Uranus. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that her fellow Soldiers had sprung up similar second skins, and suddenly, a silent wind picked up, blowing their hair around their faces, filling Saturn with a strange, weightless feeling.

_Are you ready? _Pluto broadcast to the rest of the Soldiers.

_Yes, _the Sailors answered in perfect unison, no trace of uncertainty present in the circle.

_Then let's go! _declared the Guardian of Time, and her Garnet Orb suddenly released the wisps of black smoke, sending them rocketing forwards, forming a strange, half-formed silhouette in the center of the circle, something that looked strangely like the Moon Palace.

"SAILOR TELEPORT!" yelled the Soldiers, and with a laseresque explosion of noise they became naught but orbs of pulsating light, purest white, burning red, soft sapphire, sparkling emerald, mysterious turquoise, glittering onyx and deepest amethyst. As one, the orbs rose upwards, streaking through the roof of the bedroom at a speed that put sound to shame, twisting and twirling and circling each other, concentrating with all their might on the vestiges of black smoke, on going to the place where Venus, Serenity and Rini were being held captive, on confronting Uranus and whoever else was behind this...

_Hang in there, Rini, _Saturn thought, her disembodied gaze focused on the heavens. _We're coming for you._

And no sooner had she thought this than her chaotic ascent ended, returning her first to orb-form and then to body. A cascade of amethyst sparks burst off her form as she became human once more, and corresponding sparks to the rest of the Soldiers' colours filled the air around them as the rest of the team returned to body, still holding hands. There was a moment of disorientation, and then everyone looked around themselves, eyes huge with wonder. Suddenly, Serena let out a gasp of absolute horror, and it took Saturn a moment to locate the source of her dismay.

"Oh, gods," breathed the Messiah of Silence, dropping Neptune and Jupiter's hands and staggering backwards.

"How is this possible?" Mercury whispered, reaching towards her mini computer, staring transfixed at the thing before them, doused in the same black smoke that covered Uranus, warping it into a horrific, demonic structure, looking like the dwelling of the King of Hades.

The Moon Palace.

**Throne Room**

Venus, who had been teetering on the verge of unconsciousness, looked up sharply as, for the first time in what felt like years, someone spoke to her from the outside world, renting the excruciating silence apart.

The Doom Entity was laughing, a booming, demonic sound, warped and twisted and as mocking as possible as it echoed off the cavernous walls of the deserted throne room. As Venus raised her eyes to glare at him, she saw that his hands, skeletal and rotten, had come out of the folds of his robes, arms spread wide and head thrown back.

"Enjoying yourself?" the Soldier of Love asked bitterly, forcing herself to her knees, hands pressed against the side of her prison as she glared at her enemy, knowing it was useless to try to pound her way out. Any thoughts of escape had long since left her mind, for she had mercilessly berated the flexible surface with her Crescent Beam, Love Chain, Love and Beauty Shock, Rolling Heart Vibration and Meteor Strike, but to absolutely no avail. Completely exhausted, her resolve extinguished, she had collapsed against the side of her prison, drifting on the border of unconsciousness until now.

Incredibly, the Doom Entity seemed to hear her. Letting his laughter echo throughout the room, he turned slowly to face her, malicious triumph emanating from him in waves that passed through her prison as though it wasn't even there, sending painful chills running through her.

"Oh, I _am _enjoying myself, Moon Princess," snarled her captor, and she caught sight of his eyes for the first time, slanting and bottomless, devoid of whites and pupils, glowing, bloody red. "Perhaps more so than I ever have in my entire life."

"Oh, _whoopee," _Venus muttered sarcastically, slightly stunned at her own bravado. The Doom Entity narrowed his eyes as he noted her tone, and she noticed that his form shuddered with spasmodic, suppressed anger before he spoke once more.

"You won't be cheering long," hissed the robed figure. "It just so happens that your fellow Soldier and my slave, Dark Sailor Uranus, has succeeded in capturing your daughter."

Venus' stomach dropped through the bottom of her enchanted bubble, her heart thudded to a halt and her face blanched with a horror that was too absolute to be real. _Oh no, _the Inner Scout thought in panic, as her heart burst into a death sprint. _Not Rini. This cannot be happening._

Doom Entity, sensing her panic, let out a menacing cackle of laughter. "How do you feel, Moon Princess?" he demanded in his warped, demonic voice. "Hopeless? Distraught? Or do you simply hate me?" Her enemy let out another harsh cackle. "Perhaps you think that you'll be able to defeat me now, driven by your desire to free your child?"

Venus hid her horror behind a disdainful mask, an unimpressed half-smile twisting her lips. "I won't have to," she scoffed, shaking her head, eyes flashing with mock superiority. "Uranus will free her for me."

The Doom Entity was so exasperated at her proclamation that he forgot to laugh. After a moment's stunned silence, during which her foe looked between the disdainful Venus and unconscious Serenity, the robed demon spoke, his voice dripping with sarcastic venom. "Don't delude yourself," Doom Entity sneered. "Sailor Uranus is mine, for all eternity."

Venus snorted, drawing a deranged snarl from her captor's obscured lips. "Keep dreaming. Scout Power always triumphs in the end. Who do you think Uranus' loyalty belongs to? A cackling old fool like you, or to me and her fellow Soldiers...to the Moon Kingdom and Queen Serenity?"

Doom Entity struggled to compose himself, his wraithlike form shuddering with each gasping breath he took, and then he took a step forwards, crossing the distance between them in a surprisingly graceful stride, so that his hooded face was so close to hers that their noses would have been touching had it not been for the starry bubble between them. They glared at each other for a moment, contempt etched upon Venus' face as she glared at her foe with as much hate as she could muster, cold fury emanating off of the Doom Entity's form in freezing waves.

"Perhaps the heart of the Soldier of Sky belongs to you," he hissed, tapping the bubble between them with a rotting forefinger and causing Venus to flinch backwards, startled. "But her mind and body belongs to me. Not even her pure heart crystal, the thing you Scouts put so much faith into, will be able to protect her from what I can make her do. The only way you will ever be able to free her is to remove the brooch containing her Sailor Crystal from her chest, and I assure you, you will not live long enough to have a chance to do that!"

_Jackpot, _Venus thought maliciously, realizing the value of the information the Doom Entity had just let slip. Doing her best to keep the excitement from her face, she continued to glare up at her tormentor with baleful dark blue eyes, hating every bit of him, and it was likely that their malicious staring match would have continued forever if it hadn't been for the voice that sounded from behind them.

"My lord," murmured the warped voice of the possessed Uranus, causing Venus' head to whip around so fast she almost snapped it, a gasp of surprise escaping her lips. "I have returned with the heiress to the throne."

Sure enough, Sailor Mini Moon was lying collapsed in Dark Uranus' arms, her body covered in angry red burns, a look of childish helplessness upon her oblivious face. There was a flurry of movement beside her, and out of the corner of her eye, Venus saw Serenity spring to her feet, pounding upon the side of her bubble-prison, shouting unheard, furious things at Uranus, her face livid, leeched of all beauty. She, too, flew to the side of her prison, pounding her clenched fists upon her it, her mind reeling, horror and anger pounding through her veins as she shouted, "RINI! NO, NO, _NO, _NOT RINI! DAMN IT, URANUS, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

But Uranus, who either did not hear or did not care what she had to say, had eyes only for the Doom Entity, whose deep laughter was ringing through his massive throne room once more, arms spread wide as he drifted towards Dark Uranus.

"This is wonderful!" cackled the shrouded figure, clapping his skeletal hands in delight. "Well done, Sailor Uranus, this is far more than I expected of you!"

His laughter still echoing throughout the cavernous room, the evil man spread his arms towards Uranus, who obligingly handed him the unconscious Mini Moon, poisonous yellow eyes glowing like miniature suns against her shadowy face.

"LET HER GO!" shouted Venus, slapping her hand furiously upon her prison, practically spitting fire with rage. "SHE'S JUST A CHILD, DAMN IT! WHAT COULD SHE POSSIBLY GIVE YOU?"

"More power than you could ever dream of, my dear Moon Princess," whispered the Doom Entity, his malicious eyes sparkling at the prospect of something only he could envision. In a graceful sweep of his robes, he tossed Mini Moon into the air, causing the child to float slowly upwards, rotating in a clockwise direction, the golden, gem encrusted brooch on her chest glowing more brightly than she had ever seen it glowing before. Serenity, who had been lying collapsed against the side of her prison, an expression of utmost helplessness upon her face, suddenly reeled backwards, her pale hands flying to her chest, trying without success to cover her own brooch, which had suddenly exploded with light. The Doom Entity spotted her, fuelling the malicious glint in his eyes, and he walked slowly towards his ornate golden throne, spreading his arms with exaggerated slowness.

"The three Silver Crystals are in my grasp at last! Crystals of ultimate power, of the past, present and future! You have no idea how long I have awaited this moment!"

"But why?" Venus demanded sharply, clenching her fists and shaking with fury as she glared murderously at the demon. "What could you possibly gain by doing that?"

The Doom Entity stopped walking suddenly, the throne room going deadly silent as he did so. Half-turning his head to look at her out of the corner of his pupilless eye, the demon whispered, "When I touch all three Silver Crystals, the universe will destroy itself in a time paradox. Life on every planet will be extinguished in an explosion so terrific not even you Sailor Soldiers will be able to survive it. And when all life is wiped out, I will be the sole life form left, enabling me to overrun your universe with my own! Shadow will overcome light for the first time in eternity, and there is nothing you can do about it!"

Venus was completely stunned; Doom Entity's vision was so extravagant, so terrible, she could not even think of a snappy retort. The plans of every evil entity the Sailor Soldiers had ever faced off with, Queen Beryl, the Dark Moon Clan, Pharaoh 90 and Mistress 9, Queen Nehellenia and the Chaos-controlled Galaxia, _combined _did not even compete with this vision.

"You...you're a monster," Venus whispered, her voice barely audible, choked with horror. "That's insanity."

The Doom Entity let out a single note of laughter. "Insane I might be, but a monster, no. My world has been suppressed by light for too long for me to have any pity on you."

"This is insanity," Venus whispered, going completely statuesque, her eye huge and staring, following the Doom Entity's progress as he walked towards the unconscious, floating Rini. "Don't you see what will happen? Shadow is cast by light, you idiot! Destroy light, and you destroy your creator! Everyone will die, including you!"

These words, more than anything else she had said during her imprisonment, seemed to infuriate the demon more than all else; with an inhumane shriek, he ripped Rini's brooch off her chest, her power source, containing the Silver Crystal of the future Moon Kingdom, and whirled around to face Venus, his whole form heaving as he drew in deep, shuddering breaths.

"Silence," he snarled, warped voice no louder than a deadly quiet hiss of absolute venom. "I will not be -" But he cut himself off abruptly, his slanting red eyes widening in shock as he realized something, unable to tear his gaze off Venus, whose heart began to throw itself against her chest as though determined to break through it, her subconsciousness sensing something her awareness did not. As if in slow motion, her enemy's eyes slid down from her face and came to rest on her chest, zeroing in on the plain yellow brooch that marked the center of her bow.

"Where is your Silver Crystal, Moon Princess?" the Doom Entity asked in a deadly quiet whisper, rotten hand clenching furiously upon Mini Moon's brooch as he took a step towards her.

Venus felt as though she had been hit in the stomach by a thousand iron punches. The horror of this one flaw in her disguise dimmed the vileness of the Doom Entity's plan by a hundredfold, her stomach not only dropped to her feet, but through the bottom of her prison as well, and her blood solidified into ice-cold fear as the Doom Entity's eyes bored into hers, seeming to see right past her, into her mind, probing her for an answer-

The Soldier of Love was spared having to answer by Uranus' sharp intake of sudden breath. Her enemy wrenched his furious gaze away from hers in favour of glaring at his servant, a strange, deep purple smoke rising up off his shuddering form. Venus managed to tear her eyes off the Doom Entity's form to stare at Uranus, whose blackened gloved were raised to chest level, in between them hovering an ornate crystal ball, displaying eight indistinct, brightly coloured figures.

"What?" snapped the demon, striding briskly forwards and snatching the orb out of the possessed Soldier's hands. There was a beat of absolute silence, during which Venus, Serenity, Uranus and the Doom Entity stared intently at the orb, and then, a gasp of absolute horror escaped the Inner Scout's lips as she registered what she was seeing.

Sailors Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn and Pluto were standing in a circle, hands joined, second skins of light erupted around their forms, each corresponding to their individual colours. They appeared to be standing upon a bridge constructed of glowing black marble. But in that moment, there was no room for joy in Venus' heart as she stared at a sight that would have, under different circumstances, meant imminent freedom. She was transfixed with horror, her gaze fixed upon the ninth person in the circle, a person with long golden hair pulled into tight pigtails, dressed in a Sailor Soldier uniform of with a sapphire blue skirt and bright red bow upon her chest, a pure white glow surrounding her form.

"Who is that girl?" the Doom Entity whispered, his demonically warped voice renting the horrified silence apart. On the last word, Sailor Moon's face expanded to fill the entire crystal ball, frozen in a determined, calculating expression.

For one horrible second stretched into an excruciating eternity, there was silence, and then the Doom Entity was speaking again, his voice turned dead and hallow as comprehension dawned on him. "Of course," he murmured, gazing at the orb as if the secrets of life were swirling inside it. _"Of course. _You disguised yourself to look like the Moon Princess, didn't you? When Sailor Uranus tried to capture the real heiress to the throne, you pushed her out of the way." An almost thoughtful shadow passed over his hooded face as he turned with exaggerated slowness to stare at Venus, blood red eyes glowing like the fires of Hades as they bored into her horrified blue ones.

"You are not the real Moon Princess," he acknowledged, and Venus could just detect fury boiling beneath his hollow tones. "You are Sailor Venus. Do not attempt to lie, I have realized that there is one Soldier missing from that group. But how did I not see through your pitiful disguise before?" For a split second, he glared at her in a furious attempt to discover his mistake, then, his fist clenching convulsively upon Mini Moon's brooch, he hissed, "Of course. Earth and Venus, a pair of twin planets. Sailor Moon, as the acting guardian of Earth, and you look somewhat alike."

There was a moment of silence that seemed to huge to be contained, and during that moment, Venus mentally listed all the ways the demon before her could possibly kill her, while her heart pounding deafeningly in her ears, pumping terror through her veins, rooting her to the spot, mouth gone incredibly dry. Then, incredibly, impossibly, he slashed one skeletal thin hand through the air, causing the bubble imprisoning the Soldier of Love to vanish with a faint _pop_ that was far too cheerful for the present atmosphere. Venus landed on the ice cold ground in a limp heap, her knees colliding painfully with its unforgiving surface, the sound of the impact echoing throughout the room, an oddly sinister sound. Had this happened say, ten minutes before, she would have leapt upright and attacked the two before her, but any thoughts of escape had long since left her mind, smothered by a suffocating curtain of numb blackness.

The Doom Entity stared at her for a moment, burning waves of hatred emanating off of his ragged robed form in almost visible waves, utmost loathing sparkling in his eyes, then-

"Sailor Uranus," the Doom Entity declared, his voice ringing with cold finality. "Kill the one called Venus. I have no further use for her. I will go greet our guests."

Uranus dropped to one knee, her jet black hair falling almost elegantly into her eyes as she bowed to the demon controlling her, one hand clasped over her chest, Space Sword in hand. "It will be done, Doom Entity," she assured him, the warped counterpart to her voice more pronounced than ever.

Without another word, the wraithlike man disappeared, swallowed in a crack of violent purple light, leaving Uranus and Venus alone. The Soldier of Sky got slowly to her feet, a smooth, silent action, and when she raised her head, her poisoned yellow eyes were blazing with a fury that was not her own, the black smoke rising off her form growing more solid, somehow.

"Uranus," Venus whispered, pushing herself up off her knees, a strange emotion blazing in her chest, an emotion that had been absent from her body for so long that she could not immediately identify it. "It's me. Sailor Venus, remember?"  
"Save it," barked the Outer Scout, her vast eyes narrowing to slits, holding her Space Sword diagonally across her body. "I have no pity for agents of light like you."

And suddenly, Venus recognized the emotion that had suddenly overtaken her, branching out from a solitary flicker to a raging inferno, lifting the numbness that had overtaken her brain, thawing out her blood, her heart pumping adrenaline through her veins instead of paralyzing fear.

Hope.

_Mars and the others will protect Serena, _she told herself, clenching her fists and narrowing her eyes as she met Uranus' gaze with unfaltering determination. _I've done all I can for her. My duty now is to protect Rini and Serenity. The past and the future are in my hands now._

"Prepare yourself," Uranus called, slipping into a tight half-crouch, her shadowy fingertips glowing with onyx energy. "You are about to die."

"You wish," Venus retorted, and with a cry, she flung herself forwards, every thought in her head extinguished except for one.

_Looks like the tournament isn't over after all._


	9. Eclipse of Hope

Sailor Moon's eyes widened in horror as she registered what she was seeing. With a little gasp of horror she staggered backwards, hand flying to her throat and whispering, "It can't be."

Standing before them, bathed in the same smoky blackness that covered Uranus, was the Moon Palace, poisonous yellow light emanating out from the many windows located on its upper levels, the massive doors, which were brilliant gold in her own world, were now an acid green on top, an almost waxy quality about them, darkening to blood red at the bottom.

The heavens, which in the real world had been deepest black and strewn with glittering stars, were now a deep glittering amethyst, with strange clouds of different coloured neon light drifting across it and jagged bolts of violent red light streaking across it at regular intervals.

"Oh my," whispered Sailor Mars, catching Serena's arm with a trembling hand to make sure she did not fall. "Where are we?"

Mercury, almost predictably, was tapping on her mini computer, her tinted dark blue energy scanner hiding her eyes from view. "I can't get a solid reading," the Soldier of Water said eventually, an annoyed expression upon her face as she tapped the side of her head to cause her scanner to vanish. "But from what I can tell, this whole place is swarming with Dark energy, identical to the type coming off of Uranus. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say we're in -"

"An alternate dimension," Pluto murmured, her dark red eyes narrowed, staring unblinkingly up at the black Moon Palace. "Just our luck."

There was absolute silence for a moment, during which the Sailor Soldiers all stared helplessly up at the structure before them, at a complete loss for words, wondering how in the world they were supposed to compete with a being whose energy had tainted an entire dimension, but then, the silence was shattered by Serena, who could not stand another second of feeling hopeless.

"Listen!" she cried, striding to the front of their group and turning to face them, one hand clasped over her chest. "Listen to me! We're _Sailor Soldiers, _guys! Agents of love and justice who have sworn to protect our galaxy from harm! Well, _this," _she pointed at the copied Moon Palace behind her, eyes sparkling with the tears of an emotion she was not quite sure of. "is clearly a threat to our galaxy, maybe even the rest of our universe, too!

"Whoever's behind this has already taken three of us prisoner, and a fourth is under his command! Now are we going to stand here like a bunch of cowardly teenagers, or are we going to save our friends?" Not waiting for an answer, Sailor Moon formed the sign of love with both hands and raised them above her head, shouting, "I am Sailor Moon, and in the name of the moon, I will prevail! Now who's with me?"

"I am!" came seven determined cries, as Sailors Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto made to assure her of their loyalty to her. "Scout Power!"

No sooner had they declared this, however, than ghostly laughter echoed around the bridge they had been standing on, warped, twisted, demonic laughter, so cold it put arctic air to shame. A shiver of fear ran up Serena's spine, but she refused to be cowed, so impassioned was she at the plight of her comrades.

"Who's there?" she demanded, clenching her fists and throwing her gaze up to the heavens, while her fellow Soldiers assumed various offensive and defensive poses around her.

The laughter, if anything, intensified, so that it sounded like there were a hundred invisible enemies around them, not just one. After a tense moment, it died away, though it traces of it were burned into the outer regions of the Moon Princess' mind, threatening to engulf her newfound hope in a sea of fear.

"Brave words," hissed a voice as cold as the laughter, deep and twisted. "for a pitiful little girl such as yourself. Do you think you have a chance against me? Let me show you just how wrong you are!"

Suddenly, the ground beneath them shuddered violently, and Serena let out a bewildered squeal, lost her balance and fell hard on her back. Her fellow Soldiers did not fall, though Mars, Mercury and Jupiter all let out startled cries and staggered backwards, clutching onto the Outer Scouts for support. Abruptly, the marble bridge they had been standing on rocketed backwards at light speed, so in less than a second, they were more than four hundred meters away from where they had began, a total of a thousand meters away from the entrance to the palace, separated from the waxy doors by a vast expanse of fiery coals, freezing ice and mounds of snow, and finally, a jumbled, endless tangle of razor sharp thorns.

Very slowly, a figure materialized before them, ghostly and insubstantial at first, like an apparition, but all too soon it became frighteningly real. The newcomer was sheathed in a ragged grey robe that looked like it had been dragged through time and space for several millennia, and its hands, which were skeletal thin, were a rotting and scabbed grey. From beneath the hood that cast his face into shadows, Serena could just make out a pair of slanting, blood red eyes glowering up at her, and icy cold malice emanated out from it in waves that seemed to be directed at her, turning her blood to ice.

"Gah!" cried Sailor Moon, staggering backwards into Pluto. "What _is _that?"

The figure let out a single note of bone-chilling, barking laughter. "I am the Doom Entity," he cackled, spreading his arms out wide. "And like the fear my name inspires, I am your worst nightmare!"

Jupiter let out an unimpressed snort, fearless as ever. "Gimme a break," she scoffed, and out of the corner of her eye, Serena could see the Soldier of Lightning preparing to attack, but before she could do so, the one called the Doom Entity slashed one rotten hand through the air, and in a confusing blaze of blinding flame, senseless pain and a flurry of movement, Serena found herself trapped o all sides by a thick column of flame, twenty feet high and five feet thick, the other Scouts reduced to shadowy silhouettes in the outside world. From what she could tell, they had all been separated into twos, except for her.

Doom Entity, who was somehow visible through the haze of smoke and flame, was cackling insanely, floating about ten feet off the ground, head thrown back as he howled with mirth.

"What do you want from us?" shouted Neptune, her outraged voice sounding from somewhere on her left. Serena saw the Soldier of the Ocean's shadowy silhouette sprint towards the edge of the flaming wall and try to cross through it, but she was blasted backwards, violent tongues of fire cackling around her form as she flew into what looked like Sailor Mercury's shadow, a piercing scream of agony ripping itself from her lips.

"What do I want?" the Doom Entity repeated in a harsh hiss, sounding incredibly snake-like. "I want you Sailor Soldiers to fight each other. To the death. You've already had a competition against each other back in your beloved home world, so I know you have no problem with beating each other up."

There was a beat of exasperated silence, seeming to pulse with incredulity, and then the Soldiers burst into furious speech.

"Dream on!" snarled Mars from up ahead, her voice sharper than a length of barbed wire.

"You're deluded, pal," Jupiter snorted, clenching her fists and making an angry move towards the Doom Entity's hovering form, but she was held back by Pluto, the light of her Garnet Orb putting that of the flames to shame.

"You obviously don't know very much about the Sailor Soldiers," Saturn scoffed, holding her Silence Glaive threateningly across her body. "But I'd be happy to teach you a thing or two. SILENCE GLAIVE _SURPRISE!" _she screamed the last three words as she slammed the butt of her weapon upon the ground before her, and with a tumultuous roar, a bubble of blinding purple light exploded off of the surface of her blade, expanding from a foot in diameter to thirty times that in less than a second, swallowing the Doom Entity whole.

"PLUTO DEADLY SCREAM!" shouted Sailor Pluto, and an orb of sparkling violet burst off of her Garnet Orb, twisting and swirling as it slammed into Saturn's sphere of light, an uneartheal scream deafening them as it ripped a sizeable hole in its smooth surface in attempt to get its shot at the demon before them.

"NEPTUNE DEEP SUBMERGE!"

"MARS FLAME SNIPER!"

"MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!"

"JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!"

"MOON GORGEOUS MEDIATION!"

All five attacks rammed themselves into one massive construction of blinding white light, taking on the form of a gargantuan electric swan, and with an almost musical caw it blasted right through Saturn's Silence Glaive Surprise. Immediately, an ear-splitting explosion rent the air apart, swallowing the world in a mass of blinding light, and with a bewildered cry Serena staggered backwards and fell, shielding her face in the crook of her arm, straining to hear their enemy's scream of pain-

How long the light savaged the Doom Entity's form Sailor Moon never knew; the only way she knew time had passed was that slowly, at an agonizing slow rate, the light grew dimmer and dimmer, the echo of the explosion faded to a dull ring, and eventually, she lowered her arm from in front of her face, squinting through the last vestiges of the brightness, searching for the remains – if there were any – of their enemy-

Suddenly, Mercury let out a gasp of absolute horror, so heart-wrenching that Sailor Moon thought she had been stabbed. "I don't believe it," whispered the Soldier of Water, sounding appalled.

"There's no way," gasped Saturn, staggering backwards into Mars, who was her companion in her fraction of the flames. "He can't be – no one could have -"

But her protests trailed away into nothingness, and at the same moment, Serena felt as though her stomach had plummeted a thousand feet downwards, replaced by an icy cold expanse of ice; the Doom Entity was hovering in the exact same place as before, looking as unscathed as he had when he first appeared. If she had to note a change about him, Serena would have said that his eyes, if possible, were glowing even more malevolently than she would have thought possible, and there was a faint aura of amused superiority lingering about him.

"I don't think you understand," the Doom Entity said with a malicious laugh, as if they had not each attacked him with the most powerful weapons in their arsenal, his ragged form glowing with sparkling onyx flames. "When I say fight to the death, I _mean _fight to the death." And without warning, he slashed his rotting, skeletal thin hand through the air and sent three massive bolts of crackling black lightning rocketing forwards, each of them passing through the massive walls of flame like they weren't even there and ramming themselves into the three Outer Scouts.

A wave of déjà vu threatened to overwhelm Serena as her scream of horror reverberated through the air, mingling with the agonized shrieks of Pluto, Saturn and Neptune, and suddenly, her mind was seized with the image of Sailor Uranus, obscured by a towering column of jet black flame-

"NO!" screamed Sailor Moon, sprinting towards the place where Pluto was being assaulted by a jagged bolt of onyx energy, Jupiter dancing anxiously around her. "JUPITER, MARS, MERCURY, LOOK OUT, IT'S – _ARGH!"_

She cut herself off with an agonized shriek as she ran at the wall of flame that was all that separated her from her fellow Scouts, and pain such as she had never experienced before tore through her as she was thrown violently backwards, burning orange flames melting through her uniform, setting her every nerve ablaze as she landed heavily on the flawless black surface that was the floor-

With a Herculean effort, she pushed herself to her feet, clutching at the crook of her right arm and staggering forwards towards the place where the Doom Entity was still hovering, maddened laughter ripping itself from his obscured lips. Tears of helplessness and pain poured down her face, her breaths came in short, agonized bursts, and yet she forced herself onwards, only keeping herself from passing out because of the knowledge that if she failed, none of them would live to see themselves get out of this wretched alternate dimension-

The journey, however, was made a thousand times more difficult by the battles that were going on around her; Pluto, Neptune and Saturn had emerged from the columns of onyx energy, each of them bathed in the same smoky black flame that had doused Uranus, their poisonous yellow eyes blazing with fury that was not their own. Mars, Mercury and Jupiter, each of whom had been crouched concernedly beside their fellow Soldiers, each gave cries of alarm and staggered back from their Outer Scout companions as they began to circle around them in tense half-crouches, tensed, ready to spring at a second's notice.

"What the-"Mercury cried, dancing out of the reach of Saturn's Silence Glaive, confusion and fear etched upon her pale face. "Saturn, what are you doing?"

"Shut up!" snarled the Messiah of Silence, her soft voice now mingling with a twisted, warped counterpart not unlike the one haunting Uranus'. "SILENCE GLAIVE...SURPRISE!"

"_MERCURY!" _screamed Sailors Moon, Mars and Jupiter in perfect unison, their horror absolute as a veritable maelstrom of jagged black energy came blasting out of the Soldier of Silence's lethal weapon, enveloping the Inner Scout in a mass of its electric bolts, her screams turned weak and tinny in comparison to the feral roaring of Saturn's attack. When the Soldier of Water reappeared, she was splayed upon the ground, her chest rising and falling shallowly, eyes clenched shut. To Sailor Moon's horror, her friend's Sailor Soldier uniform had disappeared, and her entire body was covered in what she could only describe as a sort of second skin constructed of bright cyan light, tiny orbs of bright green light rising off her form, identical to the ones that had emanated off her form when she was near a KO in her battle against Uranus.

Serena was sure that this time, there would be no Silver Crystal healing if she were to attain any more damage.

"SAILOR- _ARGH!" _screamed Mars and Jupiter, their cries cut off by their own agonized screams as Neptune and Pluto attacked them as viciously as if they really were sworn enemies. Serena faltered in her advance before falling weakly to her knees, her eyes widening in utmost horror, a soft, helpless gasp escaping her lips as Mars and Jupiter exploded out of Neptune's Deep Submerge and Pluto's Deadly Scream, rebounding off the walls of flame surrounding them and collapsing onto the flawless black ground beneath them.

"NO!" screamed Sailor Moon, leaping to her feet and sprinting towards the very edge of the flames surrounding her. "MARS! JUPITER! N-"

"S-Stop," spluttered Mars, her form sheathed by a thin coating of glowing ruby light. "S-Sailor Moon...get b-back..."

"We're n-not...worth it," whispered Jupiter, struggling to her hands and knees, reduced to a bright emerald glow. "P-protect Mini Moon...and V-Venus..."

"Sailor M-Moon!" cried Mercury, shaking violently as she peeled herself off the black marble ground.

The Doom Entity, almost predictably, was laughing, his warped, piercing caws echoing throughout the deserted alternate dimension. "Moon Princess," he thundered, sounding more demonic than ever. "Surrender your Silver Crystal, and I _may _let you and your friends live."

The promise was as hallow as the harsh laugh Serena emitted at his proposal. "Yeah, right!" she shouted, instinctively clasping one gloved hand over the embossed golden brooch concealing her power source. "You're gonna have to do a bit better than that if you wanna get your paws on this!"

Though her tone was unwavering, her face was frozen in a mask of disdainful superiority, inside the Moon Princess was trembling from head to foot, fighting her most primitive instincts to turn tail and sprint away from the Doom Entity as fast as she could, leaving her Silver Crystal and remaining fellow Sailor Soldiers behind. _I'm the only chance Rini and Venus and Mother have left, _she told her quaking heart. _If I fail, so does all else._

The Doom Entity let out a single not of twisted laughter, shaking his head mockingly. "In that case," he rasped, raising his robed arms above his head. "You can watch your friends die by their own hands!"

**The Moon Palace**

Venus landed on Uranus' blind side in a sort of splayed crouch, her breath coming in short spurts. She couldn't have counted the number of cuts that were slashed into every visible part of her uniform if her life depended on it, her energy supplies were at an all-time low, and the most damage she had so far managed to inflict on Uranus was accidentally tripping the Outer Scout when she dodged out of the way of her slashing Space Sword.

Looking sharply over her shoulder, Venus saw that the Soldier of Sky was sprinting towards her once more, inhumane fury etched upon her face as she did so, her gem-encrusted dagger held high over her shoulder. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, Venus crouched low and then flung herself skywards, twisting herself into a backwards mid-air somersault as she soared over the possessed Uranus' head, but as unexpected as her dodge was, Uranus rocketed to a halt and leapt into the air after her, attempting to bury her blade between her ribs, but with an alarmed cry, Venus rolled to the side, cutting it so close that the she could feel the heat emanating off her enemy's blade as it whizzed past her cheek.

Narrowing her eyes in outrage, a fury that had not possessed her during their entire battle suddenly overcame the Soldier of Love, and with a wordless cry, she twisted upright, clasped her hands on either side of her brooch and shouted, "VENUS! ROLLING HEART VIBRATION!"

Corkscrewing herself through the air, Venus felt all of her remaining energy surge to her chest an explode out of her in the form of a mass of tightly coiled pink light, a large heart constructed electric pink energy at its center. Their close proximity, coupled with the unexpectedness of this attack and the fury with which Venus unleashed it, meant that she finally, _finally, _managed to land a blow on Dark Uranus, who gave a muffled grunt of pain as her attack collided with her squarely in the chest, blasting the possessed Outer Scout backwards through the air. Venus turned a somersault before landing heavily on her feet, her vision sliding in and out of focus for a few seconds as the sheer enormity of her energy depletion hit her. She was slammed back into reality, however, in the form of Uranus' enraged roar of, "SPACE SWORD BLASTER!"

With a laseresque explosion of noise, three blazing disks of topaz light burst out of the Soldier of Sky's talisman, and Venus, knowing that it was her only chance, flung her limbs out from her body, planting her feet in the ground, and caused her orangish-gold shield, constructed seemingly of solid smoke, to erupt around her, four feet thick, her eyes narrowed to slits, teeth bared in a savage, exhausted grimace as she stared mortal injury straight in the face-

And then, with the force of what felt like a bull elephant charging towards her, the three disks of light collided with her golden shield, which flexed like an external muscle to protect her, absorbing its titanic amount of force before vanishing in a flurry of golden sparks. Despite this, Venus was still shunted backwards several feet, lost her balance and fell hard on her back, a gasp of absolute exhaustion escaping her lips as the back of her head hit the flawless marble ground.

_That's it, _Venus thought dully, letting her eyes slide shut as she gulped down massive amounts of air, fighting to stay conscious. _I can't do this anymore. I have no energy left. Uranus is gonna come running over at any second, and then that'll be it._

In a strange, disembodied sort of way, she saw exactly what she expected to see; Uranus sprinting forwards, except it was in a slow-motion, underwater sort of way, the air pulsating around her, Space Sword still in hand. On top of her slow, echoing footsteps, she could hear two people shouting, a majestic-voiced woman and a shrill-voiced young girl.

"Sailor Venus!" Serenity was pleading with her, her voice muffled and warped by the enchanted layer of bubble between them. "Keep going! _You've got to!"_

"COME _ON!" _shouted Mini Moon, practically crying from frustration. "SHE'S COMING, VENUS! GET UP! _GET UP!"_

Suddenly, time sped up, and Uranus was sprinting towards her at top speed, her long, shadowy legs crossing the distance between them with impossible ease, she had only seconds left to do something if she wanted to survive-

With an effort that felt like it would kill her, Venus drew her arms and legs into her chest and somersaulted between Uranus' striding legs just as the Soldier of Sky made to cleave her in two. The Inner Scout would later reflect that she was only alive because, out of odds that were perhaps a hundred thousand to one, Uranus' Space Sword slid out of her grip as she made to cleave Venus – or rather, the place she had been occupying – in two. With a sinister _whoosh, _the golden blade sped through the air like a boomerang, spinning end over end as it rocketed around the throne room, slicing easily through both Mini Moon's and Serenity's prisons. With faint _pops! _the pair fell to the ground on their hands and knees, looking stunned, while Uranus let out a bull-like roar and sprinted after her weapon.

Serenity, collecting her senses, leapt gracefully to her feet, wrenched her Silver Crystal off her chest and pointed it at the collapsed Venus, whispering hoarsely, "Moon Healing Activation!"

Immediately, the world was lost in a flash of black light, and for the split second it lingered in the living spectrum, the Inner Scout felt as though she had transformed into a spirit. The next thing she knew, however, the light had dispersed, and the moment it did so, she felt strength flowing through her veins, her heart pounding life and adrenaline through her like water rushing over a cliff. Venus gave her head a small shake, marvelling at how clear her mind had become, and then leapt to her feet, clenching and unclenching her fists as she glared about for Uranus, who she spotted in the corner of the throne room, in the act of picking up her Space Sword.

"Right," Venus hissed, sprinting forwards. "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM _SMASH!" _And with an explosion of noise, a golden current ran down her arm and blasted out of her index finger, cackling with flaming energy as it rocketed towards Uranus, faster than a stone from a sling.

Unfortunately for her, however, Uranus was fast; an arrow from a bow. Almost as if she had been expecting it, the Dark Soldier sprinted away from the place her Space Sword had fallen, moving so fast her form appeared blurred, racing along the outskirts of the cavernous throne room. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, Venus let out a faint growl and grasped the crook of her extended arm with her free hand, directing it after Uranus as fast as she could, feeling her newly-restored energy being sapped away at by the effort of keeping the wide arc of her Crescent Beam in the living spectrum. Where the beam touched, a perfectly straight, smoking gorge in the smooth marble floor, turning its onyx surface glowing ember.

After several seconds of fruitless chasing, Uranus had crossed half of the throne room and was showing no signs of slowing down, and so Venus, gritting her teeth at the thought of failure, clenched her fist shut on the golden beam rocketing out of her fingertip and prepared to unleash another attack upon her enemy. But as she raised her hands above her head, preparing to summon her meteor strike, her head gave a painful pulse and she staggered forwards, a feeling of horrified premonition overwhelming her. With a gasp of alarm, Venus regained her balance, clutching at the sides of her head with rigid fingers and raised her agonized gaze to look up at Serenity and Rini, and nearly screamed.

Uranus was at most ten strides away from the two members of the royal family and, sensing that it was her opportunity to strike, clenched one fist above her head, closing it around the orb of topaz light that had appeared there, and shouted, "URANUS WORLD _SHAKING!"_

Time seemed to rocket to a terrifying halt. Venus stood perfectly still, her mouth open in a silent scream of horror as she realized that she was about to fail the one duty she had charged herself with, fall short of the thing she had sworn to herself to prevent.

_Not if I can help it, _she told herself grimly, and with that final thought, she flung herself forwards in a death sprint, effectively reinstating time, her heart racing her feet as she raced towards Sailor Mini Moon, who was standing stock-still, directly in the destructive orb's path. With a Herculean effort, Venus flung herself into the air at a speed that would have put light to shame, flying faster than her outraged scream of "NO!" could catch her. She shoved Mini Moon sideways with the force of a charging bull elephant, transferring all of her momentum to the child, but before gravity could yank her back towards the ground, Dark Uranus' fury-propelled attack rammed into her.

The pain was indescribable; Venus was flung back through the air with a deafening explosion of noise and lost in a blinding mass of golden light, her arms, legs and head pushed to breaking point, screaming so loud she could have sworn the marble floor cracked slightly. Her blood had turned to acid, the air in her lungs solidified into a freezing mass of ice, her nerves were aflame, and still she flew, still she endured-

She collided with something harder than diamond with impossible force, a single note of agony escaping her lips before she slumped into what felt like the Doom Entity's throne, spots of light erupting before her bewildered eyes, anguish pounding in the back of her aching head, living with enough pain to last her an eternity. Teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, Venus kept herself tethered to the real world with a single thought.

_Protect Serenity and Rini._

As if she were laying slumped at the other end of the universe, Venus heard Uranus' savage cry of rage and effort, saw her launch herself impossibly high into the air, arms and legs wind milling wildly as she built up as much momentum as possible, her Space Sword clenched in both fists, drawn back behind her head.

Even if she had not just taken the Outer Scout's attack for Mini Moon, Venus knew that if she suffered that stab wound, she would not live another thirty seconds. Clenching her eyes shut, her body a mass of agony and trying not to think about how much it would hurt to be stabbed with the talisman of the possessed Soldier of Sky, Sailor Venus clamped her hands over her ears so that she would not have to hear the blade penetrate her body and whispered, "I'm sorry, Serena."

Her muscles were tensed so tight that she thought they would burst out of her skin, her whole body waited on tenterhooks for the blow that would end her life, almost glad that the constant berating was about to come to an end, that there would be no more fear or pain or suffering. But milliseconds stretched into seconds that were drawn out like her own personal eternities of hell, but it soon became plain that somehow, impossibly, she had managed to cheat death yet again. Slowly, very slowly, she cracked her eyes open, removing her hands from over her ears, and gazed about in bewilderment, before something that may as well have been Uranus' Space Sword pierced her heart. It was colder than the outer regions of space, than a dagger constructed of ice taken from the depths of the Arctic Ocean and more painful than words could describe. And yet this pain was not induced by an attack or stab wound. It was the essence of absolute dismay, caused by the horrific sight before her.

How she had managed to block out the sickening sound of Uranus stabbing Queen Serenity was anyone's guess, but to see the tip of the Outer Scout's blade, bathed in thick crimson liquid, to see spider webs of blood spreading out from the back of the queen's beautiful ivory dress, to hear the choked gasp of horror and pain that escaped her quivering lips and to see the look of cold unfeeling upon Uranus' face at what she had just done was worse than being stabbed herself.

"No," whispered Venus, her eyes widening to the size of oranges, shocked into awareness. "No! Serenity, no, no, _no!"_

"SERENITY!" screamed Rini, a sound that was more terrible than words could describe. "NOOO!"

The sound of the Space Sword being withdrawn from the Queen's body was so horrific that Venus' stomach clenched convulsively and a mass of hot bile rose up her throat, leaving a disgusting taste in her bone-dry mouth. Shuddering violently, Serenity toppled backwards as if in slow motion, as graceful as ever, a look of utmost horror suspended upon her divine face. Venus leapt to her feet and caught the queen against her chest with a feeling of horrid finality, feeling violently sick as the woman's blood drenched the front of her Sailor Soldier uniform, breathing shallowly through her mouth as she laid eyes upon the stab wound in the queen's front; Uranus' sword had pierced her directly over the heart, so that vast amounts of crimson liquid drenched the front of her dress.

"U-Uranus," Serenity whispered, shuddering violently against Venus, her musical voice musing, almost surprised. "Y...you stabbed...me."

"SERENITY!" wailed Venus, burying her face in the Queen's soft lavender hair. "NO! _NO!"_

The ruler of the Moon Kingdom gave a short, spluttering laugh, then clenched her lilac eyes shut, her mouth a thin line, her face draining of colour. "V-Venus," she whispered, while reaching up towards the place she had been stabbed with violently shaking fingers, as if to stem the flow of the blood. "P-protect...Serena and...free...Uranus. Those w-will be...my last...orders... to you."

"Serenity," whispered Venus, hot tears blurring her vision, falling gently onto the dying Queen's lap. There were no words to describe the horror of what she was feeling, no words she could offer to the woman who had just sustained a mortally wounding blow that was meant for her. What did you say to the one who saved your life? "I didn't want for you to d-die."

Serenity's breaths were few and far between, and she gave a spluttering cough that was halfway between laugh and a snort. It came up laced with crimson. "Venus...we're all b-born...to die. You just have...to make sure...the m-moment is...worth...it."

And with a tiny sigh, the Queen's head fell back onto Venus' blood-soaked arm, her lilac eyes half open, a certain brightness behind them seeming to have gone out. The Soldier of Love stared at the body of the ruler of the Moon Kingdom, absolute horror paralyzing her, keeping her pinned against the Doom Entity's throne, at a complete loss for words. She was gone, Serenity had died, her last words claiming that it had not been in vain. Their mentor, the ruler of the Moon Kingdom, their greatest ally and source of eternal hope and support had departed her body and gone to a place none of them could reach her.

_No, _Venus thought, the thought dead, hollow, echoing throughout her empty mind like a scream through a wind tunnel. _This is not happening. I'm dead, I must be, I'm being punished for failing to protect Serenity and Rini, that's the only way this horror can be real-_

Suddenly, Serenity's body became a humanoid cluster of glowing green orbs, pulsating in the form of the queen who had ruled over the Moon Kingdom for the gods only knew how long. They hung suspended there for a moment, glittering friendlily up at the horrified Soldier of Love with an eerie likeliness to Serenity's vague smiles, and Venus could have sworn she heard the Queen's voice murmur, _I believe in you._

Then the cluster of orbs vanished, leaving Venus nothing but a pool of glistening crimson blood, an eternity of guilt and Mini Moon's agonized howls to remember her by.


	10. Clashing Futures

**Outside the Moon Palace**

For the first time in millennia, the Doom Entity was ecstatic. His plan was going exactly as he had known it would; Sailor Uranus was still under his control, as were the other Outer Scouts, and soon the annoyances that were the guardians of the inner solar system would soon be dead. On top of this, the three Silver Crystals would soon be in his grasp.

_Light had better cherish these next few hours, _he thought maliciously, clenching his fists. _They'll be its last. _Then, _Those pathetic fools! Have dare they try to challenge my power, to defy the strength of shadows! _

Narrowing his glowing red eyes, the Doom Entity glared down at the scene before him, a savage smile spreading across his face as he surveyed the plight of the Inner Scouts beneath him. The Outer Scouts' attacks, which had been infused with his own power, were turned deadly as they slammed into Mars, Mercury and Jupiter. In what had taken them twenty minutes to accomplish in their battles back on the Moon Kingdom, he had achieved in less than thirty seconds. The force of Neptune's, Pluto's and Saturn's attacks were enough to cause half-transformations in the Inner Scouts, draining them of their power and rendering them next to helpless, just strong enough to watch death glaring them straight in the face.

"Do you see this, Sailor Moon?" cackled the Doom Entity, flicking his wrists and causing balls of amethyst flame to appear above his hands. "Do you see how powerful I am? Are you oblivious to what you're putting your friends through, all because you're refusing give me a silly little brooch?" Clenching his fists around the orbs and causing them to vanish, he shifted his gaze from the half-dead Inner Soldiers in attempt to see through the haze of burning ruby flame and glare malevolently at the Moon Princess. "All I'm asking of you is to give me your Silver Crystal. One little gemstone for the lives of all your friends."

"L-Liar!" came the choked shout of the one called Sailor Mercury, her soft voice twisted with anguish.

"Sailor Moon, d-don't give it!" wailed Mars, forcing herself onto her hands and knees, trembling more violently than the flames she represented.

"You'll j-just kill us a-all!" Jupiter declared fiercely, clutching at her left arm as she dragged herself forwards, her emerald-bathed face turned up to glare furiously at the Doom Entity, who bared his teeth at her.

"Silence!" shouted Sailor Saturn, her voice turned harsh and warped by the power he had given her, and with a sharp flick of her wrist, she sent a single bolt of cackling black energy rocketing towards the Soldier of Lightning, who let out a cracked, high-pitched scream and was blasted away from the Doom Entity, writhing and twisting as thin tongues of onyx light assaulted her rigid form.

"JUPITER!" cried Mars and Mercury, their voices layered with hopelessness as they were forced to watch their friend collapse limply upon the ground, taunted by the knowledge that they could do nothing to help her.

Letting out a single note of laughter, the Doom Entity returned his gaze to the place he knew the Moon Princess was standing, summoning every last ion of his cruelty to call, "Well? What will it be, Sailor Moon? I have no patience for these little mind games! Hand over your Silver Crystal, or allow your little friends to pay dearly for your incompetence!"

But despite the venom he put into his voice, despite the ferocity with which he hurled the words at the last obstacle to ultimate power, Sailor Moon made no response.

Unsure why there were tendrils of unease down his back, the Doom Entity increased the volume of his voice, so that the flames around him quivered slightly, thundering, "ANSWER ME!"

The seconds stretched into minutes, each one like a little mocking slap in the face, and with a shriek of inhumane rage, the Doom Entity slashed one hand through the air and caused the curtains of flame that were imprisoning the Sailor Soldiers to vanish, his eyes narrowed to slits as he glared about for the Moon Princess.

But to his horror, the girl who looked so much like Sailor Venus, with her vast, defiantly hopeful blue eyes and shining blonde hair, had disappeared. "No," the demon whispered, his slanting red eyes widening in shock at this horrific new development. "No! This cannot be!"

To his further infuriation, the remaining Inner Soldiers let out harsh barks of laughter when they realized their leader had gone, mocking him past all rationality. "She's gone!" the one called Mars declared, tossing her hair out of her face as she smirked up at the Doom Entity. "You're a fool!"

"Pathetic," agreed Sailor Jupiter, her voice turned incredibly weak for the torture she had just endured, but her jade eyes sparkled with a savage mirth he was sure she had reserved just for him.

"You can try to stop her," sneered Mercury, and it was plain by her tone that she had dubbed such a thing as impossible. "But you'll be too late."

"What the -?" the Doom Entity whispered, infuriated and confused at the Soldier of Water's remark, temporarily unsure as to what it meant, but then, understanding hit him like a punch to the face, turning his blood cold, paralyzing him with horror as he realized what had happened.

And suddenly, horror morphed into rage, rage so violent that it exploded out of him in the form of a furious scream. The demon threw back his hooded head, his rotten hands forming rigid claws as he shrieked out his frustration, holding the note for an incredibly long time for such a wraithlike person. When he could hold it no longer, the Doom Entity drew in a huge, ragged breath, his whole form heaving with the force of it, and he curled his rigid hands into fists as he seethed at the infuriating girls before him, his whole form shaking with rage. How was it possible that he, the strongest, most cunning creation in the universe, had been thwarted, duped, by a pom-pom toting, incapable teenager aided by nothing but her stupidity and belief in good, light and morality?

"Oh, I will stop her," he hissed maliciously at Sailor Mercury, who flinched at the venom in his voice. "And I will make her pay dearly for this delay. Unfortunately for you, none of you will live long enough to see that happen!" Turning his murderous glare upon the shadowy form of Sailor Pluto, who was closest, he snarled, "Kill them. Now. I will not tolerate another failure."

The Outer Scout dropped to her knees, bowing low. "No problem," she murmured, staring affirmatively up at the Doom Entity through narrowed yellow eyes.

The Doom Entity nodded once, then turned and sprinted through the air towards the entrance to his castle, panic clawing at his frozen heart. Was everything he had worked for, months of planning, weeks of training and instructing his demons, about to be ruined because of a lapse in his concentration, the dumb luck of a brainless teenage princess?

_Either way, _the Doom Entity thought maliciously. _The Moon Princess is about to die._

**Moon Palace**

"LEMME – AT – HER!" shouted Mini Moon, her childish face contorted with fury as she struggled against Venus' Love Chain.

"Mini Moon, _stop it!" _shouted Venus, one eye closed as she pulled hard on her end of the chain, trying to reel the maddened Soldier towards her. "It's too late, Serenity's -" But her voice broke on the last word, as the horror of what she had intended to confirm engulfed her. Mini Moon capitalized on her silence by screaming, "URANUS KILLED SERENITY! I'LL KILL HER!"

Rini struggled so violently that Venus almost dropped her chain, but she recovered at the last second, planting her high-heeled shoes in the ground and pulling hard on her Love Chain, causing Mini Moon to overbalance and topple over, rendering her helpless as she was dragged a few meters forwards.

Suddenly, Dark Uranus unleashed a cry of rage and lunged forwards, twisting herself into a crushing mid-air twist kick, but with a bewildered yell Venus ducked underneath the Outer Scout's attack, yanking a protesting Rini after her.

"URANUS!" shouted Venus, channelling all her sorrow and rage into her words. "WAKE UP! YOU KILLED SERENITY! DON'T YOU CARE?"  
Uranus did not respond; if anything, the look of savage fury upon her face became more pronounced than ever, and with another snarl she lunged forwards, moving so fast she left an image of her crouched self in her place. The speed of her assault was such that the Inner Scout did not have time to dodge, and so she was forced to take one hand off her Love Chain and employ an elbow block to protect herself from Uranus' fierce punch. She was immediately forced to catch the Outer Scout's fist in her free hand, and with a growl of concentration, the two grappled in a furious struggle, digging their feet into the ground and putting all their might into pushing back against their opponent, neither about to relent, poisonous yellow eyes locked onto deep blue-

"HAVE SOME REMORSE, URANUS!" Venus bawled, shoving violently back against the possessed Soldier. "THERE'S GOTTA BE SOME GOOD INSIDE YOU! THAT CREEP MAY HAVE YOUR MIND URANUS, BUT YOUR HEART BELONGS TO THE MOON KINGDOM!"

Incredibly, impossibly, Uranus faltered in her retaliation, her narrowed eyes widening slightly, fierce snarl wavering. Venus let out a gasp of surprise as, lightning-fast, the Outer Scout's eyes flashed dark blue, reverting to their real colour, but then, the moment had passed, Uranus became possessed by the Doom Entity's energy once more and, far from unnerved, the Soldier of Sky let out a harsh bark of laughter and, with unmatchable strength, knocked Venus' arm out of the way and lashed out in a violent somersault kick. With a scream of surprise and pain, Venus fell heavily onto the ground, bashing her head against the marble floor and biting down involuntarily on her tongue. Her Love Chain flew out of her hand as she fell, and with a scream of mingling outrage and triumph, Mini Moon succeeded in breaking free of the Chain, which shattered into a thousand golden fragments with an almost musical smash.

"No!" gasped Venus, forcing herself upright, the heel of her hand pressed to her temple, paralyzed with horror. "Mini Moon, don't -"

"CRYSTAL TWINKLE _BELL!" _shouted Mini Moon, producing her flaming red, heart shaped bell from out of nowhere and slashing it through the air, sending a massive wave of blinding opal light rocketing towards Sailor Uranus, who merely smiled in a mocking sort of way and, with an air of utmost calm, raised one shadowy black glove to chest level, palm facing out, and caused Mini Moon's most powerful solo attack to skid off the surface of the half-sphere of translucent violet energy that erupted before her. With a deafening roar, Rini's wave slammed into the wall on the opposite side of the room, which cracked slightly, and then the wave of opalline light disappeared altogether.

Mini Moon stood frozen, her dark red eyes huge with shock, Crystal Bell still extended in front of her face. "What the -?" whispered the youngest Soldier, taking an automatic step backwards from Uranus, who had such a ferocious expression on her face it made turned Venus' blood to ice.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" shouted the Soldier of Love, making to sprint forwards, but she was not fast enough.

"URANUS WORLD SHAKING!" shouted Uranus, slamming an orb of violent onyx light upon the ground before her, and Venus' scream was lost as the ground between the Outer Scout and the heiress to the throne was ripped violently apart by the massive sphere of light that tore its way out of it, wrecking havoc with the flawless marble surface. Mini Moon's scream was lost as she was slammed into by the lethally potent force of both Sailor Uranus and the Doom Entity, her tiny form being pummelled by tongues of jagged energy. Rini collided with the opposite wall with a dull thud, no bigger than a doll from the place Venus was standing, transfixed with horror, and about as lifeless as one.

"NO!" screamed the Inner Scout, whipping around to face Uranus, who let out a positive shriek of demonic laughter, producing her Space Sword from out of nowhere, but before Venus could even begin to run forwards, someone burst into the throne room, someone who was bathed in a single column of bright silver moonlight, her long blonde hair shining clearly against it, her uniform, so alike Venus' disguise, tattered and ripped and stained with drying blood and water-

"SAILOR MOON!" shouted Venus, taking a stunned step backwards. Uranus blinked in incomprehension, relaxed out of her tensed half-crouch and cast a blank look over her shadowy shoulder, muttering, "What the -?"

"R-Rini!" gasped Sailor Moon, clutching at one arm as she staggered into the throne room. "V-Venus! Are you guys o...oka -"

"ARGH!" shouted Uranus, whipping the rest of her body around and streamlining her form as she hurled her Space Sword at the weakened Sailor Moon, who gave a little gasp of horror but remained rooted to the spot, staring death straight in the face-

"NO!" cried Venus, an explosion of rage taking place inside her chest, and she jabbed one finger at the speeding streak of onyx, shouting, "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM _SMASH!"_

With a laseresque explosion of noise, a concentrated beam of blinding gold light exploded out of her fingertip, and at a speed Uranus' Space Sword could not hope to outstrip, it raced the streak of onyx towards Sailor Moon and knocked the dagger out of the air with a tinkling crash.

Uranus let out a shriek of demonic outrage, but Venus, refusing to waste time, sprinted towards her leader, panic and joy clawing at her heart. Sailor Moon continued to stagger towards her, her face drained of all colour, and the closer Venus go to her, the worse the Moon Princess looked; every inch of exposed skin was covered in shallow cuts and burns, as if she had been dragged through eternities of flame and thorns, there were vestiges of water on her tattered Sailor Soldier uniform as if from snow, and she looked so weak that it was a miracle she was still on her feet.

"Serena!" cried Venus, seizing her friend by the shoulders and giving her a slight shake, staring urgently into her eyes, which widened in horror as a realization struck her like a thunderbolt. "Where are the others?"

"Outside t-the...palace," whispered Sailor Moon, swaying slightly. "The D-Doom Entity...did s-something to...Pluto a-and – _RINI!" _she screamed the last word, her dark blue eyes widening in utmost horror as she spotted her daughter, collapsed on the opposite wall, her tiny form visibly bruised even from the vast distance between them.

All exhaustion forgotten, Serena's face blazed with an almost sorrowful determination as she turned her dark blue eyes upon Uranus, staring up at her in an almost pleading way as she staggered past Venus. "Uranus...Uranus, please," she whispered, her torn gloved hands outstretched, showing she was unarmed. "Rini...Rini's just a child, she hasn't done anything to you...don't hurt her any more, just let her go..."

But Uranus, it seemed, was not listening to a thing Serena had said; her glowing yellow eyes were once more incomprehensive, flickering between Venus and Moon so fast they appeared blurred. There was little room in Venus' head for anything but fear and tension, but the tiny part of her brain that was still analytical realized that Uranus' confusion was born out of the fact that she, who already bore a slight resemblance to Sailor Moon, was still dressed in her Moon decoy outfit.

"But...I don't understand!" Uranus growled, gnashing her teeth and pulling at her jet black hair. "How is this possible? I thought there was only one Sailor Moon!"

"There is," declared a demonically harsh, warped voice, and both Venus and Serena whirled around, identical gasps of horror escaping their lips as they stared wildly about for the speaker. "The newcomer is the true Moon Princess. Why else would I have told you to kill the one called Venus, Uranus?"

The possessed Uranus' expression suddenly cleared, replaced by an inhumane rage. "Say goodbye, Sailor Venus!" she roared, clenching both fists and raising them above her head, chinks of flaming onyx energy escaping them. "SPACE...TURBULENCE!"

With a deafening explosion of noise, an impossible mass of roaring black energy rocketed towards the place where Venus was standing, so forceful that the very air seemed to shudder.

"NO!" screamed Sailor Moon, leaping in front of Venus, her bright red Moon Rod in hand. "MOON GORGEOUS -"

"_SAILOR MOON!" _bellowed Venus, a cry of utmost despair, and with a burst of Herculean strength she dove forwards and forced the Moon Princess out of the path of Uranus' attack, causing her Moon Rod to fly out of Serena's hands as she flew twenty feet through the air, her mouth wide open in a horrified scream that no one could hear-

Venus was still suspended in mid air when Uranus' Space Turbulence rammed into her; she had been savaged by the leader of the Outer Scout's attack once before, and it was something she regarded as mortal agony, describable only as the horror and pain of having Queen Serenity die in her arms put in torturous physical form. But now, with the Doom Entity's power tainting her own, it was like a million Queens had just died, so torturous was the pain. Screaming louder than ever before, Venus' rigid body rebounded off walls of utter agony, each contact bringing with it a hundred years' worth of pain. Everywhere she cast her tortured gaze was inescapable blackness, cackling insanely, mingling with the demonic laughter of two monstrous people, people who had to be completely immersed in evil to watch her experience this agony and not experience the slightest urge to help her. It was burning alive, being immersed in acid, drowning in a world of freezing ice, ripped limb from limb and thrown bodily into the sun all at once, and all there was, all there had ever been and all there would ever be, was senseless, unending agony...

_Run, Serena, _Venus thought desperately, as her screams increased in pitch by tenfold, for Uranus' attack seemed to be gaining force as time ticked by. _Just _run!

And then, quite abruptly, the pain ended. Venus was slammed forcibly upon the ground by what felt like an invisible flaming hand, a single note of agony ripping itself from her lips as it did so. She lay upon the blissfully cold marble floor in a shuddering heap, back arching to breaking point with each breath she took, an agonizing headache pummelling her mind, her own piercing screams still echoing in her ringing ears. Every inch of her body felt like it had been dragged through its own personal eternity of flaming hell, she couldn't see, couldn't think, she could only _exist, _dragging down excruciating gasps of air, hoping against hope that it was over, that she would not have to endure any more...

"Kill her, Uranus," crowed the Doom Entity's warped voice, as if from the other end of a roaring sea. "Let the Moon Princess see what her foolishness has cost her."

Venus heard the Outer Scout's slow footsteps echoing off the deathly quiet throne room, each one signifying her approaching demise, but she could do nothing about it. Her strength was gone, taking with it her willpower, her sense of self, her very desire to live. Patches of black obscured her tear-streaked vision, her whole body was a screaming mass of pain, and suddenly, the Soldier of Love found herself almost welcoming the coming oblivion.

_No more pain, _she thought, struggling to lift the overwhelming blackness from her vision. _No more suffering. _And then, after a few seconds, _And I'll see Serenity again._

At this, an explosion of both sorrow and joy took place inside Venus' chest, so powerful that her vision suddenly cleared, just in time for her to see Dark Uranus come to a halt before her, shadowy face twisted with warped triumph, glowing yellow eyes merciless.

"U-Uranus," Venus whispered, struggling to push herself up onto her elbows, eyes huge, pleading. "Uranus...p-please -"

"Die!" snarled Uranus, and so quickly that the air hissed, the Outer Scout lashed out, seized Venus by the throat and yanked her forcibly to the throat, iron fingers crushing the life out of her. Venus gave an indignant splutter, kicking weakly at the air before her, desperate to reach Uranus' shins, her shuddering fingers clawing franticly at the Outer Scout's rigid fingers on her throat, trying to pry them free-

But she may as well have been pulling at a statue's hands for all it did. Choking and spluttering, Venus fought valiantly to keep herself conscious, her wide, pleading eyes never leaving Uranus', whose were narrowed to glowing yellow slits, gleaming white teeth bared savagely.

"NOOOO!" screamed Sailor Moon, as if from an eternity away, her cry the epitome of helplessness. "URANUS, _STOP!"_

"Th-think about what...you're...d-doing," spluttered Venus, tilting her head back, trying desperately to breath, her kicks becoming sluggish and weak. "You...don't h-have to listen...t-too...him. You c-can choose to turn y-your back...on...evil."

"Uranus...Uranus please," it was Serena, and her voice was shaking with horror and desperation, a barely audible croak. "Listen t-to me! Y-you're not evil. Venus i-isn't your enemy! You're n-not...Dark U-Uranus! We're f-friends!"

Uranus' narrowed yellow eyes widened very slightly, but then she gnashed her teeth together, snarling, "You are no friends of mine! The Doom Entity is my only friend!"

But beneath the ferocity of her warped, demonic voice, Venus could hear a trace of uncertianity lacing her voice, present in the small fraction that still sounded like her normal self. Sailor Moon obviously heard it, too, because she continued to speak in her small, pleading voice.

"No, Uranus, he's not your friend. _We're _your friends. Just...just let Venus go! Please! _Please! _Let us help you, Uranus. We c-can't save you if you k-kill her!"

Venus, whose struggles had been growing weaker and weaker, her legs barely moving any more, prying fingers falling away from Uranus' iron grip on her throat, breath almost completely gone from her lungs, let out a stifled little gasp as the possessed Soldier of Sky's hand suddenly loosened around her throat, glowing yellow eyes widening to the size of oranges and flickering to their normal deep blue. The Outer Scout took deep, shuddering breaths, her shadowy gloved hand shaking violently against her burning throat.

"NO! _NO!" _shouted the Doom Entity, his rasping voice sharp with panic. "DON'T LISTEN TO HER! YOU ARE _MINE, _DARK URANUS!"  
"Please," whispered Sailor Moon, her large blue eyes sparkling with tears. _"Please._ Don't listen to his lies, Uranus. He may have your body, but your heart belongs to the Sailor Soldiers. Fight him, Uranus!"

"D-don't you...remember?" Venus gasped out, staring at Uranus out of one eye, her voice reduced to a barely audible whisper. "Think...Uranus! Of e-everything that we've b-been through! Remember all the fights we've...been through? Beryl...a-and the D-death Busters...and the t-tournament!" The Inner Scout coughed violently, and a small amount of blood came up with it. "Think o-of Neptune and...S-Saturn and the...others, Uranus. Don't y-you want...to see them a-again?"

Uranus heaved in one, massive gasping breath, and then her hand fell away from her throat entirely, in favour of seizing the sides of her head and, her form shuddering violently, clawing at her jet black hair. Venus collapsed onto the ground in a limp heap, teetering on the brink of death, her clammy face pressed onto the blissfully cool marble floor, and the first breath she clawed down felt like the first breath of life, filling her deflated lungs with oxygen, allowing strength to flow back through her veins, letting her vision clear-

"S-Sailor Moon," she gasped out, raising her exhausted body an inch off the ground, her blurry eyes fixed upon the fuzzy shape that was the Moon Princess, lips trembling with the effort of speech. "The o-only way...to f-free...Uranus i-is to...pull that brooch off her ch-chest. Do you s-see it?"

There was a split second of absolute silence, then-

"Yes," whispered Serena. "Yes, I see it."

Venus coughed violently, then forced her shuddering form onto her hands and knees, pale face shining with unshakable determination. "Then let's do this," she said grimly, staggering upright. A rush of blood surged to her head, causing her world to spin violently, but she forced herself to push through the vertigo, knowing that if she didn't, something a thousand times more painful would happen to her.

"What are you doing, Uranus?" shouted the Doom Entity, and Venus looked up sharply to see that it was not, in fact, their enemy in flesh, but rather a hologram, floating towards them, literally seething with rage; violent red flames were rising off of his translucent robed form, and his aura was so malicious that the Soldier of Love had to fight to keep herself from sprinting away. "Get _up! _GET UP! They are filling your head with lies! Kill them, _kill them!"_

"COME ON, SAILOR MOON!" shouted Venus, her heart flying into her mouth. "I'LL HOLD HER BACK! TAKE THE BROOCH OFF!"

Sailor Moon nodded once, and then the two sprinted towards the shuddering Uranus, ignoring the holographic Doom Entity's outraged roars. Venus got there first and seized the possessed Outer Scout from behind by the crook of her arms, pulling her spasming form upright. Gasping and panting, Serena skidded to a halt in front of Uranus and grasped the Soldier ok Sky's onyx brooch, her torn gloves forming rigid claws as she tried to yank it off her heaving chest. Uranus gave a roar of pain, her deep blue eyes became poisonous yellow once more, and she began to struggle and writhe against Venus' hold on her arms, kicking violently at her shins and hitting her in the face with the back of her hand. The Soldier of Love gasped in pain but refused to let go, shouting, "PULL, SAILOR MOON!"

"I'm t-trying!" Serena yelled back, her normally soft voice now sounding strained and overwhelmed. "I-it's STUCK!"

"ARGH!" Uranus roared, her warped voice now sounding agonized and crackling, like she was speaking through a broken radio. Clenching her teeth, the Soldier of Sky elbowed Venus hard in the stomach, causing her breath to rush out of her lungs in a pained huff, but the Inner Scout held on, digging her heels into the flawless marble ground and lifting her fellow Soldier a little higher into the air, the crooks of her arms tightening around her captive's elbows.

"Hurry u-up, Serena!" Venus shouted, glaring at the back of Uranus' head out of one eye. "I-I can't hold...on m-much longer!"

"HOLD – STILL!" cried Sailor Moon, panic clawing at her pounding heart as she dug her fingertips into the sides of the brooch, her arms shaking from the strain she was putting in to trying to wrench the circle of onyx free. The fact that the Outer Scout was being so hostile at their attempt to release her, that she was lashing out in crushing kicks aimed at her stomach every ten seconds and that her struggles were growing increasingly more effective did not make this already impossible task easier; the brooch seemed to be stuck to the possessed Soldier's chest by some sort of impossibly thick pink glue, strands of which she could see straining to yank the brooch back into place as she pulled the circle off the Outer Scout's chest inch by inch. Clenching her teeth, Sailor Moon placed one red boot on the possessed Uranus' chest and heaved backwards with all her might, a cry of exertion escaping her lips as she threw all her weight into leaning backwards, desperately trying to pry the brooch free-

"Argh..._ah!" _she screamed, as she managed to yank the object she hated so much towards her another inch. She could hear strands of thick glue snapping as the strain upon them became too much, and she knew that, as impossible as it seemed, Uranus' freedom was not far away-

Her barely-open eyes snapped open when she felt a hand, shuddering and cold but still horrifically strong clenched itself around her wrist, and an unnerved gasp escaped her lips when she saw that it was Uranus who had grabbed her, her shadowy face contorted with fury and pain, poisonous yellow eyes sparkling with malicious hatred that was fixed solely on her.

"Say g-goodnight, Moon...Princess," snarled the possessed leader of the Outer Scouts, and with a savage growl, she seized her own brooch, the brooch containing her Silver Crystal, and pulled it backwards with impossible strength that Serena had no hope of matching. With a cry of pain, her back arched to breaking point, chest drawn forwards by the strength of Uranus' yank, her grip on her fellow Soldier's brooch loosening until she was clinging to it by the tips of her fingers.

"DON'T LET HER GET TAKE IT!" Venus screamed, her eyes widening in horror as she realized what Uranus was doing. "IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD IF THAT HAPPENS, SERENA!"

Sailor Moon opened her eyes and glared down at Uranus, her dark blue eyes sparkling with determination. Her grip on the Outer Scout's brooch became iron, and she released it with her left hand in favour of reaching for her Moon Rod, groping for it with fumbling fingers-

And then she had it in her torn gloved hand, causing an explosion of hope to take place inside her chest. With a triumphant cry, she twirled the flaming red sceptor above her head and, pointing it at Uranus in an act of absolute finality.

"MOON GORGEOUS MEDITATION!" shouted the Moon Princess, and there was an ear-splitting explosion of noise and a flash of white light, accompanied by a scream of absolute torture from Uranus as the Outer Scout was blasted backwards in the mass of white light that had roared into existence-

Sailor Venus was bowled over as Uranus was blasted backwards by Serena's attack, and her head, for the umpteenth time in so many minutes, collided hard with an unforgiving marble surface, causing it to throb angrily in protest. Refusing to allow herself time to recover, the Soldier of Love scrambled upright just as the light from Sailor Moon's Gorgeous Meditation faded into non-existence. To her horror, however, she saw that the Moon Princess was lying on her side some twenty feet away, in the state of a half-transformation, her entire torso obscured by ribbons of red light, eyes clenched shut, breathing shallowly, with Uranus' onyx brooch in hand.

The sight of this victory should have been cause for nothing but joy, but to Venus it was as if the world had just ended. The world had gone completely silent, albeit for the deafening pounding of blood rushing through her ears, and the Inner Scout turned around as if in slow motion, her eyes so wide they seemed to be taking up most of her face-

Somehow, impossibly, Uranus had landed on her feet, but she looked to be supported that way as if by invisible strings; her form was shuddering so violently that she appeared blurred around the edges, her head was bowed, chin touching her chest, and something that looked horribly like blood was seeping out from the place Sailor Moon had managed to yank the brooch of her chest. There was, however, another brooch in her shadowy black hand, a gem-encrusted, bright gold brooch with a heart-shaped silvery crystal in the middle.

The Silver Crystal of the present, in the hands of the one who would use it to destroy the entire universe.

And suddenly, Uranus threw back her head and let out an ear-splitting scream of utmost agony, her poisonous yellow eyes huge and staring, arms flying out from her chest, form completely rigid, back arched to breaking point. The Doom Entity's throne room was lost in a mass of blinding white light and Sailor Venus was forced to shield her face in the crook of her arm, staring, transfixed with horror, at the Outer Scout out of eyes narrowed to slits. Uranus' scream increased in volume by tenfold, causing it to echo off the obscured walls and making it seem like there were a hundred Soldiers of Sky screeching out their agony. And then, quite abruptly, with a sound that put thunderclaps to shame, several streaks of smoky onyx energy burst out of her chest, sprinting out in every direction, shadows of evil escaping the host that no longer wanted them. The moment the wisps of smoke had disappeared, Uranus' tortured scream cut off with a horribly abrupt gurgle, her form became completely limp, and the leader of the Outer Scouts slumped forwards and fell, the sound of her body hitting the floor a thousand times more horrific than one could imagine.

* * *

Exciting news, everyone! I've been contacted by an independant broadcasting company. Now though the talks are preliminary, if all goes well we may very well be looking at the possibility that the Tournament of The Sacred Ten may be pitched as a possible Sailor Moon movie! Excitement! :D :D :D The company has said that the production of it will depend heavily on the ending of the story (like how the Stars arc was never dubbed into English because of all such things as nudity) so I'm trying to create an ending that will both please you fans and the company!


	11. Venus' Sorrow

Sorry for the big delay, everyone! I've actually been really busy and I haven't had much time to write. The broadcasting company says to stay hopeful because (I'm not sure if everyone already knows this) Toei Animation is trying to negotiate a worldwide Sailor Moon series revival. Here's me hoping that the series does really well in the countries that it has already been re-released in, because if it does well there it may very well come to the U.S. and Canada! (Sailor Stars in English, here we come)! Keep your fingers crossed everyone, because an international revival is definately a good sign!

* * *

** Outside the Moon Palace**

"Neptune!" shouted Sailor Mars, staggering backwards out of the range of Neptune's ferocious punch. "Snap out of it!"

The Outer Scout's only response was a feral snarl, followed almost instantly by a crushing twist kick aimed at her head. Mars gave a bewildered gasp and ducked underneath the blow, her long hair, which was glowing an opaque ruby red because of her half-transformation state, flying about her face. Unable to use her powers and incredibly weak, not to mention devoid of hope and determination, the Soldier of Flame had been reduced to a sluggishly moving shell of her former self, unable to do anything but dodge out of the reaches of the possessed Sailor before her.

"Take _this!" _snarled Neptune, her soft, melodious voice twisted and warped by an inhumane rage that was not her own, and she proceeded to unleash a flurry of lightning-fast attacks on her too swift for her to properly comprehend. With a bewildered scream, Mars flung herself to the side in attempt to get out of Neptune's range, but even as she flew, the Soldier of the Ocean's foot caught her in the stomach in the middle of a lethal kick, and Mars was flung backwards through the air, her breath rushing out of her lungs in a painful huff. The Inner Scout landed heavily in a crumpled heat some ten feet away, her body crackling with onyx sparks that had erupted around her form that had been borne out of Neptune's foot connecting with her stomach. Gasping for breath, Mars twisted out of her crumpled hand-stand like position and knelt upon the ground, too weak to even attempt to force herself upright. As she struggled to move backwards, she collided with another shuddering body, and the strangled gasp of pain that sounded from behind her told her it was Jupiter.

"M-Mars?" cried the Soldier of Lightning, her normally thunderously confident voice now choked with hopelessness and panic.

"Jupiter!" Mars gasped out, blinking tears of pain out of her eyes and throwing a half-glance at her friend, which showed that Mercury was also with them. The two of them looked as berated as she felt, a certain brightness seeming to have gone out in their eyes, orbs of green light rising off of their forms. Though Mars had only been in this state once before, she knew that if she suffered another attack at the hands of the Outer Scouts, there would be no Serenity waiting to heal her wounds.

"They've g-got us su-surrounded!" Mercury cried, her voice shaking with terror as she jabbed a trembling finger at some point in the distance. Baring her teeth, Mars looked sharply upright, and she could feel what little colour she still had in her face drain out of her face. Pluto, Neptune and Saturn, all breathing heavily, their forms appearing to have been doused in shadowy flames that twisted and coiled off the edges of their bodies had formed a sort of triangle, with the Inner Scouts in its center and each of them at its points. Mingling with their shadowy glows were the colours that represented each of their planets, deep turquoise, sparkling amethyst and glittering onyx respectively, and upon each of their faces was a savage fury that left no doubt in Mars' mind what was about to happen to them.

"Oh gods," breathed Jupiter, her eyes widening in horror, evidentially coming to the same conclusion as her. "They're not -"

"PLUTO!" screamed Mercury, her hoarse voice cracking as she plead. "SATURN! NEPTUNE! LISTEN TO ME! YOU'RE NOT EVIL!"

"There's nothing to listen to," whispered Sailor Pluto, her poisonous yellow eyes narrowing to slits as she raised her Garnet Rod above her head, glowing red gem now a stormy black, a translucent onyx glow emanating off of it.

"You're troubles are about to end," declared Saturn, with a harsh, demonic laugh that was as contrasting to her normal voice as possible, the blade of her Silence Glaive obscured by an orb of energy.

"Good bye, Sailor Soldiers," cackled Neptune, her hands glowing with a mixture of cyan and onyx energy.

"WAIT!" screamed Mars, her heart pounding deafeningly in her ears, and with a Herculean effort, she clawed herself to her feet. "PLEASE! IT DOESN'T HAVE TO END LIKE THIS!"

"You're not evil, guys!" Jupiter cried, desperation clawing at her voice as she held on to Mars to pull herself upright. "Just let us prove it to you! You may think you belong to the Doom Entity, but you don't!"

"He's got you tricked!" wailed Mercury, extending her hands towards Saturn, who was closest to her, in attempt to show her she meant no harm. "See past whatever spell he's got you under, please, _please, _you'll find the real truth!"

To Mars' incredulity, she saw the Outer Scouts' eyes widen slightly, and for the merest fraction of a second, hesitation flickered across their faces. Determination flared in her heart as she realized that all hope was not, in fact, lost, and she burst into impassioned speech, taking a shaking step towards Pluto, who was nearest her.

"Think, Pluto!" she wailed, her hands curling into pleading fists as she begged, refusing to break eye contact with the Soldier of Revolution. "Think of the Moon Kingdom! Remember all the evil we combated there? Beryl and Pharaoh 90 and Chaos? Can't you sense the same aura around the Doom Entity? Don't you _see _that he only wants to cause us harm?"

"Remember Serenity?" whispered Jupiter, walking slowly towards Neptune, a single emerald tear rolling down her cheek. "The Queen? And what about Rini? They've been taken by the Doom Entity, Neptune! The one you think is your friend! Is he really worth fighting for if he kidnaps and lies and intends to murder?"

"Please," Mercury whispered, her voice barely audible, like a soft sigh of wind. _"Please. _Remember. Look for the light."

"What the –?" gasped Neptune, her poisoned yellow eyes widening in shock at the last word. Pluto unleashed a gasp of absolute horror and took a staggering step backwards, while Saturn nearly lost her grip on her Silence Glaive, her hands trembling violently.

And then, quite abruptly, the Outer Scouts began to flicker between their demonic, shadowy counterparts and their real forms, each of them letting out strangled cries of pain and bewilderment as this flickering transformation occurred.

"What's happening?" cried Jupiter, taking an automatic step back from the Outer Scouts, a rare display of fear flashing across her face.

"Nothing good!" cackled the demonically warped voice of the Doom Entity, sounding more malicious than any of them had ever heard. "Outer Scouts, finish them _NOW!"_

There was a deafening cackle that sounded like a thousand lightning bolts thrashing down from the sky, too loud for Mars to hear her scream of "NO!", a scream that mingled with the horrified ones of Jupiter and Mercury as they saw the demonic sides of the Outer Scouts forced their normal selves into submission, and their real voices were barely detectable beneath the warped counterparts as they exploded into speech.

"PLUTO DEADLY SCREAM!"

"SILENCE GLAIVE _ELIMINATE!"_

"SUMBARINE VIOLIN TIDE!"

There was an explosion of cataclysmic proportions, the ground shook more violently than if a thousand earthquakes were savaging it, and with bewildered screams that no one could hear, Mars, Jupiter and Mercury were slammed forcibly into each other, landing heavily upon the shaking ground with their backs pressed together, as a fatal wall of blinding onyx energy approached them on every side, crossing the distance between them at a horrifically fast pace-

So _this is how it's going to end? We're going to fall at the hands of our possessed allies? _The thought, though formulated in her mind in less than a fraction of a second, brought agonized tears to Mars' dark eyes, and she clenched them shut, determined to not show the Doom Entity her weakness in her final moment of life.

_Venus. Serena. Rini. Serenity. I failed you._

_Forgive me._

And then there was an impossible explosion, an explosion of catastrophic proportions that caused Mars' eardrums to burst, nearly ripping her limb from limb, the light was blinding even from beneath her clenched shut lids-

Yet there was no pain; the impossible din cut off with unnatural abruptness, the light vanished, the destructive winds and smothering heat were banished with an almost musical smash, a sound that was strangely familiar, a sound that was far too cheerful when compared to the impossible evil it had just deflected-

_It's impossible! _thought Sailor Mars, her eyes sliding open, and she raised her trembling hands, which were still a burning ruby red, in front of her face, marvelling at how she was able to do such a thing. _How are we still alive?_

She was wrenched away from her thoughts, however, when Mercury's voice sounded from behind her, made so shrill from surprise that it was a wonder she was making herself heard at all.

"_Serenity?" _gasped the Soldier of Water, and with stunned little gasps, Mars and Jupiter's heads whipped around, staring wildly about for the Queen.

Someone was standing some ten feet away from them, her thin arms thrown out from her chest as if she was shielding someone, the last vestiges of a translucent lavender dome fading out of existence around them. She certainly looked like Serenity, for she was incredibly pale and was sheathed in a flowing ivory dress, soft lavender hair rippling out behind her, identical to the hairstyle of her daughter's, but there was something not quite right about the Queen. It took Mars a minute to register it, but eventually she noticed that Serenity was not solid; she was floating several inches above the ground, and the warped Moon Kingdom they had landed themselves in was clearly visible through the Queen's translucent body.

"Serenity!" whispered Mars, her eyes widening in confusion as she took in the Queen's state. "What happened to you?"

"I don't have much time," murmured Serenity, lowering her arms and looking at the awed Inner Scouts over her shoulder, cryptically ignoring Mars' inquiry. Her lilac eyes seemed to be the only solid part of her, glistening with a strange sadness not unlike the one that haunted Pluto's. There was something different about her voice as well; the words seemed to echo, as if the Queen was speaking to them from the other end of an immensely long tunnel, though it seemed to make her voice, if anything, quieter. "I have come with a grave warning; Serena and Rini are in, perhaps, the greatest danger of their lives, and it is only a matter of time before the Doom Entity and Uranus are able to kill them."

"What about Venus?" Mercury demanded, still sounding slightly shell-shocked at the Queen's abrupt appearance.

"There is no time," whispered Serenity, her lilac eyes sliding closed, making her look more ghostly than ever. "If you hurry, Serena and Rini can still be saved. Take these -" the ruler of the Moon Kingdom waved her hand through the air, and their senshipens, including the ones of the three Outer Scouts, appeared before them, their Sailor Crystals each now a brilliant gold, ornate little wings sticking out of the sides, though those of the Outer Scouts were deepest onyx "-and say 'Crisis Power' after the name of your planet. I promise, these transformations will not go awry."

There was a short pause, during which there was absolute silence on the Inner Scouts' parts, so overwhelmed were they at this onslaught of information. But then it was shattered by Jupiter, who had an almost awed quality about her voice as she whispered, "Serenity...you aren't – dea-?"

"There is no time," Serenity whispered sorrowfully, clasping one hand over her chest as she interrupted Jupiter. "Serena and Rini must be saved. Good luck, Inner Soldiers."

The Queen turned gracefully away from them, her lilac eyes roving over the frozen forms of Sailors Pluto, Neptune and Saturn, and she shook her head in an almost disappointed sort of way. "My poor Outer Soldiers," Serenity murmured, producing her Moon Rod from out of nowhere and raising it above her ghostly head. "What has he done to you?"

"S...Serenity?" whispered Pluto, her yellow eyes widening in utmost horror as she recognized the apparition.

"The Moon K-Kingdom," murmured Neptune, looking as shocked as if she had just been asked to take her own life.

"What have we done?" Saturn whispered, mortified. There was a beat of absolute silence, and then the air was rent apart by a hideous, bone-chilling scream, so high-pitched that Mars actually clamped her hands over her ears. Accompanied by this scream was the sound of a million panes of glass being shattered, and Sailors Pluto, Neptune and Saturn, who were the sources of the screaming, threw out their chests as though they were being drawn outwards by invisible strings, the yellow eyes huge and unseeing, fingers forming rigid claws as a chaotic wind roared about them, and suddenly, the onyx shadows they had been bathed in exploded off their forms, shattering into infinitesimal little pieces that whizzed sinisterly in every direction, flying only a few feet before they disintegrated into nothingness.

Their screams cut off with unnatural abruptness, and then Pluto, Neptune and Saturn fell forwards onto the ground, returned to their normal forms as they dragged down rattling breaths, their entire bodies heaving as they shuddered on their hands and knees. Out of the corner of her eye, Mars saw that the Outer Scouts' Sailor Crystal became molten gold, like their own, and knew that this time, their conversions to good were real.

"Saturn!"

"Neptune!"

"_Pluto!" _

As one, the Inner Scouts sprinted forwards, each heading towards the Outer Scout closest to them. Mars threw herself onto the ground beside Neptune, seizing her desperately by the shoulders and giving her a small shake as she whispered, "Neptune! _Neptune! _Are you alright?"

"How would you feel, if you had just been possessed by that lunatic?" Neptune managed to gasp out in between breaths, and she managed to raised her curly haired-head just high enough to stare incredulously up at Mars, who gave a very shaky laugh and threw her arms around the Soldier of Ocean, tears streaking down her face.

"How can you ever forgive me?" whispered Neptune, sounding a thousand years old as she pulled herself away, dark blue eyes shining with tears as she gazed beseechingly into Mars' eyes. "For attacking you all like that."

"Well," Mars pretended to think about it, tapping her chin with a slightly shaking finger. "Let me th-"

"You can help save Serena!" shouted Sailor Jupiter, sounding mutinous as she spotted the motionless Mars and Neptune, both of whom jumped to their feet as though electrocuted at the sound of the furious Sailor's voice. Jupiter, who was still in the state of half-transformation, snatched their senshipens out of the air and hurled them at Mars and Neptune, yelling, "I've had enough of feeling this weak! JUPITER CRISIS POWER!"

Immediately, the Soldier of Lightning was obscured by the mass of cackling jade light that burst out of her Sailor Crystal, and Mars, exchanging a nod with Neptune, who looked slightly bewildered, forced her senshipen above her head and shouted, "MARS CRISIS POWER!"

Immediately, several tongues of flame burst out of her Sailor Crystal, and with a graceful twirl, Mars raised her arms above her head, causing two of the tongues to encircle them, while the remainders twirled about her torso, legs and feet. With an almost laseresque burst of noise, the flames melted into the rest of her body, and not only did they banish the pain and weariness that had until so recently consumed her, they caused a feeling of inexplicable power to course through her, making her feel stronger than she ever had before. Twirling elegantly once more, Mars banished the cocoon of flame that had encircled her, emerging as what she could only describe as a new person.

"Woah," she said, impressed, and she raised her hands in front of her face once more, blinking at them in a stunned sort of way. "That's...that's really -" She let herself trailed off, completely in awe; her uniform now resembled that of Super Sailor Moon, her skirt turned white with a thin ribbon of red along the edge, as well as long trailing crimson ribbons that were attatched to the back of her skirt, and there were two ornamental combs in her hair as well.

"I guess this is how Uranus' transformation was supposed to look like," Mercury murmured, shaking her head with a look of wonder on her face as she took in the changes in their uniforms.

"I doubt that," said Pluto, giving herself a quick once-over to ensure that her transformation was correct. "I'm pretty sure she was supposed to become an Eternal Soldier. That's what her uniform -"

"WHY ARE WE STANDING HERE DISCUSSING THIS?" yelled Saturn, stamping her foot and slamming her Silence Glaive upon the ground. "SAILOR MOON IS IN DANGER _RIGHT NOW! _WE HAVE TO _MOVE!"_

Immediately, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, Pluto, Neptune and Saturn took off, leaving their awe behind them as desperation sunk into their bodies like a stench. Would the Doom Entity have already killed Venus and Serena? How much time had passed since Serenity delivered her grave message to them?

And then, a thought, a horrible thought that caused Mars' heart to falter, crept into her mind as she contemplated the mystery of Serenity's insubstantial appearance. _What if...what if Serenity is _dead?

With a soft little gasp, Mars staggered in her advance, her eyes huge, round with horror, but Saturn gave an angry hiss and pushed her forwards with the staff of her Silence Glaive, yelling, "Come _on, _Sailor Mars! We've got no time to -"

But the last word died in her throat when as the group of Solders skidded to a halt outside a set of massive onyx doors, which were flung open wide. Inside was a cavernous throne room, identical in size and shape to that of the true Moon Kingdom's palace, except this one was constructed solely on black marble, so dark that the floor, walls and ceiling all blended in with one another. There was a massive multicoloured throne constructed of what looked like melting wax sitting in the middle of the room, but no one paid it any attention; all eyes were focused upon Sailors Venus and Moon, the latter looking far worse than she had when they had last seen her. They were both crouched over a third, unmoving person, someone who was almost entirely obscured from view albeit for a single pale arm, which was thrown outwards at a very bizarre angle.

"SAILOR MOON!" shouted Mars, Mercury and Jupiter, their voices choked with horror as they looked on at the sight before them.

_Oh no, _thought Sailor Mars, feeling as though her blood had turned to ice. _What has Uranus done?_

**The Moon Palace, Minutes Earlier**

Venus' dark blue eyes widened in horror as she stared uncomprehendingly at the unmoving Uranus, her blood transformed into liquefied fear that pumped through her body, effectively paralyzing her. _Oh no, _she thought, her hand clasped at her throat, breath solidifying in her chest. _Uranus! What have we done? Did we really free you? Or was the Doom Entity lying when he said removing your brooch would return you to normal?_

"Uranus..._Uranus," _she whispered, tears brimming in her eyes as she lifted the collapsed Outer Scout's upper half into her arms. "What have we done to you?"

But the Soldier of Sky, who was now hovering in the state of a half-transformation, ribbons of topaz light obscuring her torso, did not respond, nor had Venus expected her to; Uranus merely lay, motionless, in her arms, looking ghostly pale, as limp as a ragdoll. Her breath catching painfully in her throat, the Inner Scout rammed her ear against her friend's chest, listening desperately for a heartbeat, her fingers clawing into the Outer Scout's shoulders.

After several seconds, she felt an incredibly faint, fluttering something beating against Uranus' chest, an irregular pulsation that seemed to be occurring less and less frequently, and the Inner Scout could not help but fear that each beat would be its last.

"U-Uranus," Serena gasped out, and Venus looked up sharply to see that the Moon Princess was dragging her lower half behind her as she clawed her way towards them across the floor, exhaustion and fear etched upon her face. "U-Uranus...are you – is she -?"

The Soldier of Love looked on in horror as Sailor Moon dragged herself forwards, appalled at what her friend had been reduced to. Uranus' brooch was still clutched in her hand, held more tightly than a drowning man clutches at a life raft, and to Venus' horror, she saw that the heart-shaped piece of onyx jewellery seemed to be pulsating, identical to the demonic heart it so resembled. Venus was quite suddenly seized by the desire to attack the thing with every power she had in her arsenal, and she grappled violently with this urge, not knowing what the effect of her actions would be.

_Everything I've done today has been met with an evil consequence, _the Soldier of Love thought, lowering her gaze towards the unconscious Uranus in her arms, and at this sight, her tears spilled over her cheeks, wrenching a single sob from her throat as she thought of everything that had happened. _Serenity is dead because we all agreed to participate in that _stupid _tournament! Mini Moon's been mortally wounded because I wasn't fast enough to help her, and Serena – oh, gods – look at her! It looks like she's been dragged through hell to get here!_

_Maybe, _maybe, _if I'd been a bit smarter, I would have killed Uranus when I had the chance._

"Sailor Moon?" Venus whispered, raising her eyes so that she could stare, agonized, into her leader's eyes. "I had...h-had the chance to...to k-kill Uranus...but I d-didn't t-take it. Does...Does that make it my fault i-if anyone else gets hurt? I-if anyone else _d-dies?"_

Sailor Moon's eyes widened in horror as she finished her sentence, her mouth dropping into a trembling 'o' of shock. "N-no!" she gasped, letting Uranus' brooch drop onto the ground with a clatter as she seized Venus by the shoulders. "No! She's not evil, Venus! It's that wicked man, the Doom Entity! He's controlling her, a-and -"

"But if anyone else d-dies," whispered Venus, letting her eyes slide closed, not quite able to stem the flow of her tears. "That makes it m-my fault, Serena! All b-because -"

"W-What?" stammered Sailor Moon, and her tone was so shocked that Venus could not help but open her eyes. "What are you talking about? Who...what...is someone _dead?"_

The tears seemed to burn her skin as they trickled down her cheeks, each resembling a thousandth of the shame that was coursing through Venus. Summoning all of her strength, knowing she would require every last drop of it to answer Serena, the Soldier of Love dragged down a shaking breath, and slowly, tremulously, she whispered, "I-it was a blow...meant for me. I d-didn't think, I should have t-taken it...head on, but Serenity...j-jumped in f-front and -"

"SAILOR MOON!" came three strangled cries, voices that she recognized. Venus wrenched her gaze off of the horror-struck Sailor Moon to look over her shoulder to see who had called. The sight before her, which would have under different circumstances been a cause for absolute joy, only caused the faintest flutter of happiness to take place inside her stomach. Sailors Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn had just come skidding into the throne room, all of them wearing new Sailor outfits almost identical to those of Super Sailor Moon, exhaustion and fear etched upon their moonlit faces.

But before anyone could speak, before anyone could move or even begin to formulate some sort of plan, a scream rent the silence that had fallen upon them apart, a high-pitched, blood curdling screech that was more horrific than anything Venus had ever heard, like the sound of Uranus' Space Sword being withdrawn from Serenity's body multiplied by a thousand. With a gasp, Venus hand flew to her throat and she leapt to her feet, her head snapping upwards almost painfully fast.

The Doom Entity was hovering some thirty feet above them, his cloaked arms flung out from his body, rotten, rigid fingers visible from beneath its folds, his hooded head thrown back to breaking point as he screamed his displeasure, a violent amethyst glow lingering about his form, identical to the onyx flames that had risen off of the possessed Uranus.

"_SAILOR SOLDIERS!" _he screeched, taking heaving breaths as he turned his malicious gaze upon them, literally seething with rage. "YOU HAVE INTERFERED WITH MY WORK FAR MORE TIMES THAN YOU SHOULD HAVE!"

"Doom Entity!' shouted Venus, her hands balling into fists as she returned the wraithlike demon's hate-filled gaze with equal malevolence, rage coursing through her. "Come down here and fight! You're nothing but a coward!"

"You let Uranus do your dirty work for you!" yelled Sailor Moon, seeming to recover from the horrified shock that came with the news of her mother's death. "You let her kill Serenity, when she had done nothing to harm you!"

"We are agents of love and justice, as well as guardians of twin planets, Earth and Venus!" cried Venus, moving to stand beside Serena, pressing her back against hers as they both assumed poses of tense defence.

"And in the name of the moon," shouted Sailor Moon, forming the sign of love with both hands. "We shall punish y-"

"SILENCE!" screeched the Doom Entity, slashing one hand through the air, and Venus let out a cry of pain as something like a white-hot whip slashed her across the face, a split second of agony that was enough to cause the Soldier of Love to stagger backwards, blinded by her own tears-

"Venus!" cried Serena, catching her before she could fall, but that was as far as she got, for the Doom Entity exploded into speech once more, his rotten hands curled into shaking fists at his sides.

"I have waited too long," screeched the demon, sparks flying from the amethyst glow around him. "To be thwarted by the forces of luck and light! You will all pay, mark my words, but first –"

With grace that did not at all match his horrific appearance, the Doom Entity twirled swiftly on the spot, vanishing into nothingness. Her breath catching painfully in her throat, Venus took an automatic step backwards from the place the demon had vanished, eyes roving about the throne room in a desperate attempt to locate him.

_Oh, gods, _the Soldier of Love thought, turning slowly on the spot, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. _He could be anywhere!_

It was Saturn, however, who located him first. "SAILOR MINI MOON!" screamed the Messiah of Silence, taking a step forwards, but she was seized sharply from behind by Pluto, who was staring in the direction of the heiress to the throne with an expression of utmost horror on her face.

"NO!" screamed Sailor Moon, a sound of utmost despair that clawed painfully at Venus' already aching heart, and the Inner Scout whirled around, her hand flying to her throat as she looked wildly about for Mini Moon. The youngest Soldier, seemingly oblivious to the horror that was unfolding all around her, was struggling to push herself off the freezing marble floor, shaking more violently than an earthquake-savaged building, covered in burns and bruises. The Doom Entity was standing some five feet from her, radiating hatred as he glared malevolently at Rini, blood red eyes burning like the flames of hell –

"_MINI MOON!" _came the combined, agonized scream of the Sailor Soldiers, all making to sprint forwards, but they froze quite abruptly, paralyzed by utmost horror as the Doom Entity slashed a rigidly clawed hand through the air and sent a massive beam of crackling violent amethyst energy, mingling with miniature bolts of onyx light, rocketing towards Rini, crossing the distance between them in less than a second, and the next thing Venus knew, Mini Moon was screaming, a sound more horrible than she could have ever imagined, high-pitched and agonized, a sound no sentient creature would force another to make-

"_NOOO!" _screamed Serena, tripping over Uranus in her haste to reach Mini Moon. With an agonized cry, the Moon Princess stumbled and fell, but instantly forced herself to her feet and sprinted forwards, her arms and legs moving so fast the rest of her form appeared blurred-

No, she _was _becoming blurred; Sailor Moon vanished in a mass of blinding white light and feathers, and for a moment, Venus feared the worst, but then her leader exploded out of the cocoon as Eternal Sailor Moon, moving so fast it looked like she was about to fly with the help of the gossamer wings that had appeared on her back.

The other Sailor Soldiers were paralyzed by a mixture of horror and fear at the Doom Entity's sickening display of maliciousness, as well as at Sailor Moon's almost foolhardy actions, but before any of them could move, could call out or even begin to formulate some sort of plan, Serena, who was less than twenty meters away from her writhing, twisting daughter and the merciless, hooded demon who was torturing her, let out an ear-splitting scream of excruciating pain and was thrown backwards with a deafening sound like a thunderclap, writhing and thrashing, her form cackling with onyx energy.

"SAILOR MOON!" shouted Venus, Mars, Mercury and Jupiter, all flinging themselves forwards in a death sprint towards their leader, who had crashed onto the marble floor, skidding a full ten feet before she came to a halt halfway across the throne room.

Mini Moon's screams seemed to intensify in volume as Sailor Moon hit the ground, while the Doom Entity let out a caw of harsh, demonically warped laughter, sounding more insane than usual. "DON'T LOOK AWAY NOW, SAILOR SOLDIERS!" he cackled maliciously. "I WANT YOU TO WATCH, TO HATE ME, AS I KILL THE HEIRESS TO THE THRONE!"

Venus, who had thrown herself onto her knees at the feebly-stirring Eternal Sailor Moon's side, looked up sharply, her eyes widening in horror as she looked on at the sight before her; a massive barrier, stretching through the entire length of the throne room, from floor to ceiling, separating them from Mini Moon and the Doom Entity by at least thirty meters. The barrier was composed of a mass of coiling, twisting, lime green and flaming red light, and, upon closer inspection, Venus saw that the light was, in fact, an armada of thousands of jackal-faced demons, lashing outwards with clawed fingers, snapping their long-snouted jaws at them and cackling insanely.

"S-SERENA!" Mini Moon managed to scream out, and she paid for this outburst dearly, for her screams increased in agony by tenfold after this. Nevertheless, she managed to shriek out, "M-MAKE IT..._STOP!"_

"THAT'S IT!" screamed Sailor Pluto, and the outburst was so violent that the Inner Scouts – sans Serena – leapt to their feet and whirled about to stare bewilderedly at the Outer Scout. "NO MORE GAMES!"

"PREPARE FOR YOUR END!" shouted Neptune, her curly turquoise hair flying out behind her in the chaotic winds that were raging off the barrier. The Soldier of the Ocean raised her hands, which were glowing with cyan energy, above her head, while the Guardian of Time twirled her Garnet Rod above her head, her Garnet Orb glowing so blindingly bright it looked like a miniature sun.

"CHRONOS TYPHOON!" bellowed Pluto, disappearing behind a mass of glittering, roaring wind. An instant later, a mass of glowing amethyst energy exploded out of the cocoon of wind with a most uneartheal scream, onyx streaks of light writhing and twisting inside it, shrieking so loudly that Venus actually covered her ears, hiding her eyes behind the crook of her arm.

"SUBMARINE VIOLINE _TIDE!" _screamed Neptune, catching her Marine Cathédrale violin and bringing her bow violently across its strings causing an ear-splitting roar to rent the air apart, accompanied by a veritable tsunami of cyan, magic-imbued water.

The attacks, which were driven by rage and already more than lethal, rocketed across the distance between the Outer Scouts and the barrier in less than a second, each one ramming into the wall of translucent demons with devastating explosions of noise. The world was lost in a flash of blinding white light, raging wind and a positive maelstrom of noise, so loud that Venus felt her eardrums pop. Less than a second later, however, there was a laseresque explosion of noise, and suddenly, the blinding light, the chaos-driven winds had gone, replaced by –

"No!" whispered Pluto, sounding dumbstruck as she dropped her Garnet Rod with a clatter.

"Impossible!" cried Neptune, her dark blue eyes widening in utmost horror as she saw that the barrier, which had been assaulted by the combined forces of the underworld and rage of the ocean, was standing, unmarred, before them, the only change in its state seeming to be that it was glowing even brighter than before.

The Doom Entity, almost predictably, was laughing, his hooded head thrown back, malicious red eyes narrowed to slits as he howled with mirth, his deep, demonic voice echoing throughout Venus' mind like a million slaps to the face. "PATHETIC, SAILOR SOLDIERS!" he cackled, and as if to taunt them even further, he curved his rotten hands into even more rigid claws, causing the jagged bolts of amethyst-onyx light that were rocketing out of them to multiply by ten, wrenching an impossibly tortured scream from Sailor Mini Moon.

"_ENOUGH!" _screamed Venus, leaping to her feet, her dark blue eyes narrowed to enraged slits, gloved hands curled into claws as she glared murderously at the demon before her. "VENUS POWER!"

Immediately, a bright golden something appeared around her form, more like solid smoke than anything else. The Soldier of Love clenched her eyes shut, and when she opened them, they had become solid orbs or molten light.

"MARS POWER!" shouted Sailor Mars, leaping over to stand beside Venus and assuming a tense half-crouch at her side, glowing with ruby light.

"MERCURY POWER!"

"JUPITER POWER!"

The Soldiers of Water and Lightning positioned themselves on either side of Venus and Mars, glowing with sapphire and emerald light respectively. Making sure that each of them were in contact with at least one other Soldier, the Inner Scouts summoned absolutely all of their energy, channelling them into their cores, willing their power to be enough to blast through the Doom Entity's barrier-

"SAILOR PLANET _ATTACK!" _bellowed Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter, and with a supernova-class explosion of noise, their blinding glows condensed into the brooches upon their chests exploded off them, dazzling gold, flaming red, smouldering sapphire and raging emerald, all twisting and spiralling as they rocketed towards the barrier at a speed light could not hope to outstrip-

But to their horror, their most powerful attack, one that could rival the strength of Saturn's Silence Glaive Surprise, collided with the wall of demons, and was simply absorbed by it, strengthening its ever-brightening glow.

Mars, pushed over the edge by this failure, let out a scream of absolute rage, throwing her raven-haired head back, hands curled into fists at her sides. "FIGHT FAIR!" she bawled, looking like she would relish the chance to destroy the Doom Entity, who merely let out a harsh screech of laughter in response. "FIGHT FAIR, YOU CHEATING -"

"There is no other way."

Saturn's voice was so quiet that Venus nearly missed it. Immediately, she looked sharply over her shoulder, and let out a strangled gasp of horror to see that the Messiah of Silence had raised her Silence Glaive above her head, large violet eyes clenched shut, mouth a determined line as she faced the direction of the Doom Entity. "The Doom Entity must be stopped," she let one violet eye slide open, through which she fixed the Doom Entity with a glare so malicious that his insane laughter faltered. "In order to kill you, I will sacrifice my life in the name of the Moon Kingdom and the planet Saturn!"

"S-Saturn!" Sailor Moon choked out, her round, dark blue eyes glistening with tears as she forced her shaking form onto her hands and knees, clutching at her left arm. "S-Saturn, d..don't! It w-won't -"

The Doom Entity let out a single snort of laughter, and so exasperated was he that he curled his hands into fists, closing them around the jagged bolts of energy that had been lashing out of him in a continuous streak and causing them to disappear. Sailor Mini Moon gave a single, shuddering gasp, then fell out of the air, her limbs still splayed, as lifeless as the wall behind her.

"N...N..._NOOO!" _screamed Serena, pounding her fists onto the ground, the essence of despair. "RINI! _RINI!"_

But though Mini Moon's – possibly fatal – silence was yet another agonizing reality Venus had been faced with over the past seemingly endless eternity, she knew that right now, there was only one person they had a hope of saving. Saturn, a blazing amethyst glow hovering about her form as she realized that Mini Moon had been downed, raised her Silence Glaive as high as she could, her narrowed violet eyes blazing with hatred as she shouted, "SILENCE GL-"

"SATURN, _NO!" _screamed Venus, Mars, Mercury and Jupiter, and as one they sprinted forwards, throwing themselves into death sprints, desperate to reach the Messiah of Silence-

Time seemed to move in slow motion, the air seemed to be pulsing, and every sound had been extinguished except for the deafening pounding of Venus' heart in her ears. They were the only ones who could save Saturn, the only ones who _would _save her; Sailor Moon was too injured to do more than sob, Mini Moon was unconscious, possibly – and if she were honest with herself, probably – dead, and Pluto and Neptune, as Outer Scouts, believed that sacrifice was sometimes a necessary act, an act that in this case looked to be undoubtedly necessary -

_I've got to reach Saturn, _she told herself desperately, the thought echoing throughout her oddly blank mind. _I've got to. If she dies, it'll be like watching Serenity throw her life away again. No one is worth the life of a Sailor Soldier, not even the Doom Entity._

Then time unfroze, and the Sailor Soldiers were sprinting forwards as fast as they could once more, but they were still ten strides away from Saturn, whose whole body was taught, preparing to unleash her very life force when she lowered her Silence Glaive-

"NO!" screamed Sailor Jupiter, her hoarse voice cracking with desperation as she extended one helpless gloved hand towards the Outer Scouts.

"-ELIMINATE!" yelled the Messiah of Silence, bringing her Silence Glaive hard over her head, a sound that seemed to suck all the sound from the world-

But then there was an ear-splitting clang of metal hitting marble, a sound made a hundred times louder because of the silence that had blanketed the Doom Entity's throne room. Venus staggered and fell, her eyes huge with shock, fixed upon the sight before her even as she toppled through the air. Pluto, at the absolute last second, had thrust her Garnet Rod out from her body and crossed it with Saturn's Silence Glaive, preventing it from lowering it past her stomach. The Messiah of Silence's eyes widened with horror as she realized what had happened, seeming to be too stunned to speak.

"I'm sorry," whispered Pluto, her dark red eyes, boring intently into Saturn's averted violet ones. "But I...I just couldn't let -"

"Not that!" yelled Saturn, her voice choked with panic as she jabbed one shaking gloved finger at a spot in the distance. "SAILOR MOON! COME BACK!"

With a gasp of utmost horror, Venus forced herself off her elbows and threw her gaze over her shoulder, mouth a perfect 'o' of shock. Eternal Sailor Moon was on her feet once more, and in an action that forced the Soldier of Love to question her leader's sanity, was sprinting once more towards the barrier, disregarding the burns that covered her arms and legs as she wailed, "Hang on, Rini!"

"SERENA!" yelled Mars, her tone mingling with exasperation and astoundment. _"NO! _YOU'LL BE KILLED!"

Serena did not turn at Mars' furious call; if anything, she sprinted faster. The Doom Entity was laughing openly now, shrieking so hard that his demonic voice echoed off the cavernous walls of his throne room. Venus, knowing she did not have a hope of catching the Moon Princess, threw her hopes up to the heavens and formed the sign of love with her right hand, raising it above her head as she shouted, "VENUS! LOVE CHAIN -" a trailing chain composed entirely of molten gold, interlocking hearts appeared around her form- "- _ENCRICLE!"_

With a metallic _shink! _the chain sprinted forwards through the air, lashing sharply from side to side like a metal snake, crackling with white hot energy as it raced after the sorrow-driven Sailor Moon, while Venus thought wryly, _If it worked on Rini, it'll work on her._

But to her horrified astoundment, her Love Chain fell short, clattering unsatisfactorily to the marble floor some fifteen feet away from Sailor Moon. Mercury, Mars and Jupiter, all of whom had decided that the best course of action would be to sprint after their leader, all gave helpless cries as they heard the Chain hit the ground, but these were nothing compared to the agonized one that was wrenched from the lips of Sailor Neptune, to whom the fate of the universe seemed to be below.

"_URANUS!" _screamed the Soldier of the Ocean, sounding more tortured than if she had just been stabbed. Venus could not help but turn her wide-eyed gaze upon the Outer Scout, and a pang of jolting sorrow coursed through her when she saw that Neptune had, at long last, spotted her cousin, who had not moved an inch from the place she had collapsed. The Soldier of the Ocean threw herself at Uranus' side, her whole form heaving with sobs as she clasped one of her limp hands in both her own, tears pouring down her beautiful face.

"Oh n-no, _no, _p...please, Uranus, p-please, _please, _it's m-me... N-Neptune," she sobbed, pressing her face into her companion's unrising torso. "P...please, d-don't be...d-dead -"

"SERENA, _NO!"_

The horrified screams of Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto were more than enough to wrench Venus' gaze away from the two Outer Scouts, returning instinctively towards Sailor Moon, and her eyes, which were already opened as far as anyone would have thought possible, widened even more, her pupils dilated with indescribable fear as she saw that Eternal Sailor Moon was less than two strides away from the barrier, showing absolutely no signs of slowing down, radiating determination, as stubborn and foolish and, quite simply, as idiotic as the Doom Entity had dubbed her-

But Serena was not blasted bodily back from the wall of demons, as she had been before. She did not let out an excruciating scream, did not explode in a mass of lime green orbs, as her mother had done at the hands of Uranus, an eternity ago; with an almost musical outburst of noise, a massive sphere of translucent silvery white light burst into existence around the Moon Princess, born out of her Silver Crystal, which was still fixed upon her chest. She passed through the barrier as easily as if it wasn't there, and not only did she reach the other side unharmed, she managed to silence the Doom Entity more effectively than any of them had managed in what felt like the eons they had been fighting him.

Clearly as inhumane as he had proved himself to be, the Doom Entity narrowed his blood red eyes, a maliciously triumphant aura emanating off of his wraithlike form. "Moon Princess," he snarled, taking a very small step towards her, merely looking amused when she did not halt in her chaotic sprint forwards. "How kind of you to deliver the last Silver Crystal to me!"

And so fast that he left an image of himself behind, the Doom Entity whirled around and slashed his rotten hand through the air, sending another yet another massive bolt of amethyst energy rocketing towards Mini Moon, who now had countless orbs of lime green light rising off her body, so numerous that it looked like she had an incredibly thick second skin.

This was it, Mini Moon would not be able to take another second of the Doom Entity's torture; her life would end, after it had barely begun, and Venus couldn't help but lament the fact that there was no one to jump in front of the heiress to the throne, as Serenity had done for her-

A horrible scream of pain rent the air apart, a scream that belonged to someone whose voice was one octave lower than Mini Moon's. Sailor Moon had planted herself in front of Mini Moon, her arms and legs spread wide, shielding her daughter from view, her back arched to breaking point, form as rigid as a board, head thrown back until it touched the middle of her back, her scream more terrible than any form of physical torture you could think of, multiplied by a thousand, in Venus' point of view.

"NO!" screamed Mercury, her voice cracking, sounding maddened by grief, and she sprinted forwards, moving twice as fast as before.

"_SERENA!" _shouted Sailors Jupiter and Mars, their combined sorrow almost as heart-wrenching as Serena's screams, and they tore after the Soldier of Water, moving so fast they were reduced to naught but streaks of Sailor Soldier-coloured light-

"SAILOR MOON!" howled Venus, Pluto and Saturn, every other thought extinguished in their minds as the intolerable shrieks and screams that were the cries of agony from the Moon Princess assaulted their ears, making a banshee's scream seem like an example of beautiful music in comparison, and the three of them flashed forwards, driven by both their impossible hatred of the Doom Entity and Sailor Moon's tortured screams, Venus' heart seeming to be intent on ripping through her chest, her ears screaming for release, begging her to find a way to make Sailor Moon's screams stop-

She did not care that Mercury, Mars and Jupiter were blasted back from the barrier of demons as though they were no stronger than feathers caught in a whirlwind, did not hear their screams as they were hurled bodily through the air, did not see them writhe and twist with their own agony. She did not regard these things as a preview of what was about to befall her. Venus did not hear the Doom Entity cackle, "YOU ARE DEAD, MOON PRINCESS!" or hear Neptune's agonized cry of, "LEAVE HER, IT'S TOO LATE!" She only knew that she had to do something, no matter how futile, to help Serena, to save the one person Serenity had been trying to protect all along-

Venus collided with the barrier with the force of a small bomb exploding, and the pain that tore through her was about a hundred times more potent; it was burning alive, ripped limb from limb, smashed to a million miniscule pieces and then frozen in acid. It was Serenity's death, Rini being tortured and Serena's screams liquefied, and put into tangible form before being rammed into her. An ear-splitting scream was wrenched from her lips, a scream that mingled with those of Saturn's and Pluto's, but unlike them, she, perhaps through sheer force of mind, the Soldier of Love kept her rebound off the barrier to two meters. She landed on the freezing marble floor so hard that little spots of light erupted before her eyes, feeling more out of breath than if she had just sprinted two marathons.

"Get out of the way!" snarled the Doom Entity, sounding as if he was speaking from a million miles away, though his demonic voice was still impossibly harsh. There was a noise like a whip crack, followed by a shrill scream of pain from Serena, and a few seconds later, the heavy thud of a body hitting the ground. Venus forced her eyes open, and they promptly widened until it seemed like they would pop out of her sockets, for Eternal Sailor Moon, somehow, impossibly, had forced herself onto her feet, shaking more violently than an ant caught in an earthquake, her whole form heaving with each shuddering breath she managed to choke down, and as the Doom Entity made to slash his hand through the air once more, she gave a strangled cry of, "N-No!" and staggered forwards, spreading her arms wide as she stumbled in front of Mini Moon once more, and less than a fraction of a second later, there was a deafening electric cackle, and Sailor Moon's form was ablaze with amethyst energy once more, her screams now cracked from exhaustion, rebounding off walls of pain, her vast dark blue eyes open wide, staring unseeingly up at the multicoloured cloud-streak heavens, shrieks now so high pitched that it was astonishing that they could still be heard at all -

"S-Sailor...M...Moon!" Venus gasped out, and speaking the name of her leader gave her the strength to force herself back up to her feet. With a strangled cry, the Soldier of Love staggered forwards, pounding her clenched fists upon the barrier, ramming them into the leering faces of the demons that it was composed of, yelps of pain escaping her lips with each contact she made, more each one brought with it an agonizing shock like a fleet of a thousand lightning bolts tearing up her arms. The Doom Entity, hearing her cries of pain, seeing that she, who had been reduced to a distraught shell of her former self, was the only Sailor Soldier left standing, let out a malicious cackle of demonic laughter, and the electric crackle that came from the bolts of amethyst energy he was shooting at Serena grew, if possible, even louder, though it was not enough to drown out the Moon Princess' screams, which had melted into one continuous shriek of agony, a high-pitched, deafening sound that felt like a million iron-clad slaps to the face to Venus

It was almost unendurable; the Soldier of Love was a mere thirty meters away from Sailor Moon, and yet it may as well have been a mile of broken glass, for neither Pluto's Chronos Typhoon nor their Sailor Planet Attack could break through the barrier, and Eternal Sailor Moon must have been mere inches from death at this point-

As if some sort of demonic version of the Fates had heard Venus' dark thought, the Doom Entity suddenly clenched his fist around his seemingly endless supply of amethyst lightning, wheezing excitedly, his whole form heaving with each breath he took. With a strangled moan, Eternal Sailor Moon collapsed upon the ground, somehow managing to remain conscious, stifled sobs escaping her lips, body shuddering so fast the outline of her form appeared blurred. Orbs of lime green light were rising off her form so thick and fast you could barely see her feathery white wings anymore. All the sound, albeit for the near-deafening pounding of Venus' heart, seemed to have been sucked from the throne room as Sailor Moon struggled to force herself onto her knees, coughing and gasping as she spread her trembling arms wide in a final attempt to save Rini, who had been watching her mother take the torture that was meant for her with her mouth open in a horrified, silent scream, which now escaped her lips in a single, trembling whisper, barely audible over the Soldier of Love's heartbeat.

"No."

Venus' eyes were huge, reflecting the horrific scene before her, so appalled by what was going on that she had forgotten to breath. "Sailor Moon," she whispered, her voice strangled by panic, going unheard by the inhabitants of the room. "Sailor Moon! No, no, no, _NO!"_

The final 'no' wrenched its way out of her in the form of an agonized scream, and she slammed her hands against the barrier's surface for a final time, falling limply to her knees, shaking with tortured sobs, refusing to move her hands even when impossible amounts of agony ripped through her arms, regarding it as a fraction of the pain she needed to endure, for her friend, her best friend, was about to die –

"Goodbye, Moon Princess," the Doom Entity whispered, his demonic voice drowning in excitement. With an inhumane screech, the demon slashed his hand over his shoulder, which was now obscured by flaming onyx light, preparing to strike, to end Eternal Sailor Moon's life-

And that was when, at long last, Sailor Uranus' eyes snapped open.


	12. An Ultimatum

**Moon Palace**

Time seemed to have frozen, exempting only Sailors Uranus and Venus. The latter's eyes widened in shock as she felt an electric charge rent the air apart, prompting her to throw her gaze over her shoulder, breath catching in her throat. For someone who had been on the verge of what may very well have been death, the leader of the Outer Scouts looked unsettlingly oriented, her dark blue eyes, narrowed to slits, burning with determination as she clenched her fists around her head, closing them around twin orbs of blinding topaz light, mouth curved into a ferocious snarl as she roared, "SPACE...TURBULENCE!"

There was an explosion of cataclysmic proportions as the Soldier of Sky slammed her fists together and brought them down over her head with crushing force, causing an impossible amount of blinding golden flames to explode out of it, the din so loud that Venus' eardrums burst, while the ground shook more violently than if the alternate dimension they were suspended in had collided with another planet. With a bewildered scream that no one could hear, Venus fell heavily to the ground, blinded by the glare of Uranus' attack, and for a single, ludicrous second, she feared that her Space Turbulence would rebound off the Doom Entity's barrier and kill them all-

But then there was, if possible, an even louder explosion, this one more forceful than ten supernovas detonating at once, mingling with the agonized screams of a thousand light-composed demons, and with another scream, this time one of senseless pain, Venus was blasted backwards, tumbling head over heels for several meters before she landed in a throbbing heap, clinging onto consciousness by mere threads. Somehow, impossibly, she saw Uranus' Space Turbulence slam into the Doom Entity, whose arm was inches from passing his torso, and the demon let out a piercing scream of excruciating agony, reduced to an onyx silhouette against the light that was savaging his wraithlike form, arms and legs thrown back to breaking point-

And then, quite abruptly, the blinding topaz light vanished into nothingness, revealing the Doom Entity, who had fallen onto his obscured hands and knees, coughing and spluttering, shaking like a leaf caught in a tornado, as well as Sailor Moon, who had fallen face-first onto the ground, as still as the dead, while Mini Moon tried desperately to revive her.

"U-Uranus!" Venus gasped out, her dark blue eyes huge as she stared at the Soldier of Sky, who was still suspended in the state of a half-transformation and had fallen to her knees, evidentially drained completely at using her most powerful attack. Neptune, looking as though she had just received one of the biggest shocks of her life, was kneeling at her partner's side, her eyes looking gaunt in her skull, curling turquoise hair standing every which way as she whispered tremulously, "Uranus? Are you -?"

"ARGH!" screeched the Doom Entity, sweeping upright so fast Venus let out a horrified gasp. If he had been angry before, it was nothing compared to what he was now; he was shaking so fast the outline of his form appeared blurred, and an amethyst glow had appeared around his ragged form once more, onyx sparks now flying off his form. His blood red eyes now cast translucent crimson glows, making him look like some sort of demonic, rage-driven humanoid spotlight. "BAD MOVE, SAILOR URANUS! TAKE _THIS!"_

And with that ominous pronunciation, the Doom Entity drew his robed arms into his chest, bowing his hooded head, an act that drew all the sound from the room, and for a split second, the air seemed to pulse, time had frozen, and Venus' eyes were fixed upon the demon before her, horror coursing through her, paralyzing her, preventing her from even letting out a terrified cry-

The Doom Entity flung his arms out from his chest in an action that looked oddly like an explosion, and with good reason; there was a catastrophic explosion, causing Venus' hair to fly back as insane winds clawed at it, bringing tears to her eyes, and a mass of blinding onyx light exploded off the Doom Entity's splayed form, twisting and weaving and in less than a second, it had taken on the form of a massive, flaming sword, its tip obscured by a bubble of blood red light, which was locked onto the helpless Uranus-

Venus acted without thinking; with a piercing scream of, "NO!" she leapt to her feet, her eyes clenched shut, wanting nothing more than to be standing in front of Uranus, to take the blow that she should have endured in the place of Queen Serenity, to make sure she did not have to suffer any more-

There was a deafening clang of what sounded like screeching metal on metal, causing Venus' eyes to fly open, and a pang of shock went through her when she saw that she was standing with her arms flung out from her sides, chest thrown out and blinded by burning onyx light, a golden glow about her form, like solid smoke, acting as a barrier between herself and the Doom Entity's attack-

She heard alarmed gasps from either side of her, and, her breath catching in her throat, the Soldier of Love looked wildly around, eyes widening in shock when she saw that the other Sailors, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto, the two latters on her left and right, were standing alongside her, their hands clasped, the same solid smoke, corresponding to their main colours, lingering about their forms.

"_Argh!" _Venus cried, as the Doom Entity's mass of blinding onyx light nearly succeeded in ripping through her shield, crackling like a thousand lightning bolts lashing down from the sky and about as deadly, stronger than the combined forces of all their attacks put together. Summoning every last ounce of her strength, Venus narrowed her eyes to slits and forced herself to make her shield stronger, gritting her teeth as she stared the lashing onyx light through unblinking eyes ,refusing to back down, for she knew that the moment she did, her shield, along with those of the other Sailor Soldiers, would break, and then all hope would truly be lost-

The Doom Entity let out a scream of inhumane rage as he realized what had happened, and through the chaos that was the demon's attack, Venus could see him sprinting forwards through the air, arms spread wide, making him look like some sort of demonic hooded bird, glowing red eyes creating translucent orbs of crimson around his shrouded head.

She could not keep herself from letting out a gasp of absolute horror; the demon had them completely trapped. Trying to attack the Doom Entity would mean relinquishing their shields and allowing his attack to savage them, but not doing so would give their enemy a clear shot at them.

"DIE, SAILOR SOLDIERS!" screeched the Doom Entity, mere feet from them now, causing the massive wave of onyx light he had unleashed upon them to divide itself into two with a sweep of his hand, allowing himself a clear shot-

"_NOOOO!"_

The united screams of Serena and Rini were more piercing than a thousand panes of glass being shattered at once, and reverberated through the air long after the world had been rent apart by a flash of purest white light, which dispersed almost instantly to reveal Sailors Moon and Mini Moon, standing with their left and right hands clasped, free arms thrown out from their chests, and as one, they reached for their Moon Rods, holding them diagonally across their bodies, and shouted, "MOON GORGEOUS _MEDITATION!"_

And with that, there was a cataclysmic explosion of noise and light, an explosion so massive that Venus knew it couldn't have been solely born out of Serena's and Rini's attack. But that was as far as her brain got, however, for the next second, the light, which had started out as opalline white, had been taken over by a choking onyx black, and rebounded off the Doom Entity's form, blasting through Sailors Moon and Mini as if they were no more solid than apparitions, roaring so loud that it drowned out the screams of the heiresses to the throne.

Venus' agonized scream rebounded throughout her mind as her leader's Moon Gorgeous Meditation rammed into her, ripping her shield apart like a lion savaging its prey. The attack, which was already bordering on lethal, had been infused with the Doom Entity's deadly power, and for an agonizing second that seemed to stretch into a hellish eternity, the Soldier of Love rebounded off torturous walls of pain, twisting herself into grotesque displays of agony as she flew, her mouth stretched into a tormented scream that no one could hear, blinded by both pain and light, until, after travelling to the depths of hell and back again, Venus was released from the torture, collapsing limply onto a blissfully cold surface in a shuddering, gasping heap, tears pouring down her face as she struggled to choke down breaths.

Someone, a sick, twisted person, no doubt, was laughing, a wild, maniacal sound, demonic caws echoing off the agonized walls of Venus' oddly empty mind. With a Herculean effort, the Inner Scout forced herself to make sense of the jumble of colour that her world had been reduced to, and saw the Doom Entity drifting slowly towards Sailor Uranus, who was shaking violently on her hands and knees, glaring up at the cackling demon from behind her sandy blonde bangs, hatred etched upon every line of her face. The other Sailor Soldiers were strewn about on the marble floor; Mercury, Saturn, Serena and Rini looked to be on the verge of unconsciousness, while others, like Mars and Neptune, were struggling to force themselves upright. Every exhausted, tear-streaked face, was turned after the Doom Entity, whose head was still thrown back, rotten, skeletal hands protruding from out of the folds of his ragged robes. With horrific abruptness, the demon cut himself off, returning to soberness so abruptly Venus half expected him to drop dead. The Doom Entity came to a silent halt in front of Uranus, radiating a hatred so powerful that Venus was shocked the leader of the Outer Scouts did not recoil. The demon glared down at the Soldier of Sky, his hooded head tilted to the side, surveying her in a cruelly contemplating way. There was a beat of absolute silence, silence so vast that it pressed painfully down upon Venus' damaged eardrums, and then, so quietly she almost didn't hear it, the Doom Entity whispered, "You forgot something, Sailor Uranus."

And then, with exaggerated slowness, the monstrosity raised his right fist, which was curled around something, and opened it, to reveal the bejewelled onyx brooch that had acted as the link between Dark Uranus and the Doom Entity, still pulsating in grotesque resemblance to a metallic heart, though now it was in a feeble, half-hearted sort of way.

"U-Uranus!" Sailor Moon gasped out, and Venus, who had forced her shuddering form into a sort of splayed crouch, looked up sharply, squinting through her agonized tears to see that the Moon Princess was on her feet, her arms and legs covered in scratches and angry red burns, green orbs still rising freely off her form, looking like she was on the verge of unconsciousness – or worse – but there was a glimmer of hope in her over-bright dark blue eyes. "U-Uranus...don't...l-listen to...h-him!"

"ENOUGH!" screeched the Doom Entity, an enraged, blood-red glow about his hooded form, and with an inhumane scream, he drew his free hand over his shoulder and made to slash it through the air, but Venus, acting purely on instinct once more, plunged her hand into her skirt and produced her star-topped senshipen, forcing it above her head and shouting, "VENUS POWER!"

Her piercing scream mingled with those of Sailors Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto, Neptune and Mini Moon, all of whom had been possessed by the same sort of desperate energy, and, to everyone's great surprise, a half-sphere of translucent silvery appeared in front of Sailor Uranus with a laseresque explosion of noise, causing the Doom Entity's streak of onyx light to rebound off of it, missing the demon by inches and wrenching yet another insane shriek from the Doom Entity's obscured lips. Venus, who felt as though she was operating on some sort of alien energy, felt almost all of the little strength she had left drain out of her body, but forced herself to keep her senshipen above her head, eyes still fixed upon Uranus, whose ghostly pale face was reflecting the light of the thin layer of light that was all that stood between her and their mortal enemy.

Suddenly, the Soldier of Sky's Space Sword appeared before her, hovering vertically in front of her face. Its jewel-encrusted blade was glowing more brightly than ever before, a near-blinding topaz glow emanating off of it. The silver half-sphere of light that had erupted before her suddenly condensed into a single streak, melting effortlessly into the curving silver blade, increasing its glow by tenfold.

"I-It's up to...y-you, Ura...nus!" Venus managed to gasp out, the words slinking out of her trembling mouth before her brain could make sense of what she was saying. "I-it's gotta...be!"

"I...b-believe...in...y-you," Neptune managed to gasp out, her oceanic blue eyes sparkling with tears, beautiful face leeched of all colour as she raised her head to stare pleadingly at her partner. Uranus, who had not taken her eyes off her Space Sword from the moment it had appeared before her, suddenly narrowed her eyes, her face hardening into a merciless mask of determination, and, without warning, she snatched the blade out of the air so quickly that the air hissed and stabbed the dagger through the air, an inhumane cry of rage escaping her lips, gaze focused upon the Doom Entity, who looked as calm as if he had been watching these proceedings from a million miles away-

"Stop."

The demon's voice was no quieter than the faintest breath of wind, but was so venomous, so sharp that Venus would have preferred if he had shouted the word. Uranus froze when her dagger was an inch from the Doom Entity's shrouded heart. A gasp of utmost horror was wrenched from Venus' lips as she saw that the demon had raised the onyx brooch that he had used to possess Uranus to chest level, a translucent black glow emanating off the Dark senshipen. The brooch was pulsating more noticeably than ever before, perhaps because, like some sort of parasitic entity, it sensed that a reunion with its host was near.

"N-No," Venus gasped out, and with an effort that felt like it would kill her, the Inner Scout forced her trembling self to her feet, clutching at her left arm as she staggered forwards, horrified gaze fixed upon the Doom Entity, whose blood red eyes snapped on to her at once, sadistic rage bursting off of him in waves, and with an inarticulate scream of fury, he slashed one clawed hand through the air, and the next second, something that felt like an invisible flaming whip had slashed her across the face, wrenching an agonized scream from the Soldier of Love's lips as she fell backwards to the ground, blinded by pain, the strangled cries of the other Sailor Soldiers assaulting her damaged ears...

The Soldier of Love forced her head up off the ground, staring through the blurry veil that was her tears, and she was dismayed to see that a translucent column of amber flames had encircled Uranus and the Doom Entity, twenty feet tall and cackling insanely, the heat barely endurable even from the ten feet of distance between her and its edge.

Sailor Uranus had frozen completely, her look of absolute rage vanished from her face, replaced by a look of indescribable shock, staring, transfixed with horror, at the brooch the Doom Entity had forced in front of her upturned face, Space Sword, shaking in her still-raised hand.

"Sailor Uranus," whispered the Doom Entity, and Venus, disoriented as she was, could not help but wonder how the Soldier of Sky was keeping herself stationary when the demon before her was speaking with such venom. "You are mine."

Fury flashed through Uranus' widened blue eyes, replaced by an expression that left no doubt in Venus' mind that there was a violent internal struggling raging inside the leader of the Outer Scout's mind. "N..._Never!" _Uranus spat out, sounding as though each syllable cost her unimaginable effort, but the Soldier of Love was horrified to hear that there was a trace of her warped, demonic counterpart present in her low, very near masculine voice.

The Doom Entity's eyes narrowed slightly, his skeletal, rotten fingers tightened around the outstretched brooch, and, in a voice of pure malice, he snarled, "You fool!"

An electric cackle rent the air apart, and in less than a second, the onyx brooch was ablaze with amethyst flames, their malicious cackling drowned out by a scream of utmost agony from Uranus, whose back arched to breaking point, Space Sword dropping to the ground with a muted clatter as she screamed, fingers forming rigid claws at her sides, head thrown back until it looked like her neck would snap, looking as if...as if...

As if her real heart was aflame.

"S-STOP IT!" Sailor Moon screamed, her voice cracked with desperation, somehow managing to make herself heard over Uranus' shrieks of agony. "STOP! _PLEASE!"_

Immediately, Uranus fell silent, her gloved hands balled into fists as she knelt before the Doom Entity, her whole body heaving as she dragged down ragged gasps of air. Out of the corner of her horrified eyes, Venus saw that Sailor Moon was standing precariously on her feet, tears pouring silently down her face as she gaped at the horrendous scene before her, looking tortured at the fact that she could do nothing to aid the leader of the Outer Scouts, the one who had always rejected their help, the one who had, despite the excruciating pain she had just been put through, had not once uttered a plea for aid –

"You _are _mine, Sailor Uranus," the Doom Entity hissed, his tongue twisting her name so that it sounded like a disgusting swearword. "And you will die mine."

Uranus made no response, and to Venus, her silence was more horrible than if she had just witnessed the Doom Entity stab her friend in the heart. After all they had been through, after the torture Serena and Rini had endured, after Serenity had lost her life in the violent struggle that had ensued to free the Soldier of Sky, after they had clawed their way up from the agonizing depths of hell, the Doom Entity had made sure their journey had been in absolute vain.

"You have failed me, Uranus," the Doom Entity whispered coldly, and the Soldier of Love saw that the demon had picked up the Outer Scout's Space Sword and was twirling it almost unconsciously at his side, an action that was infinitely too idle to be in the presence of such evil. "And the price of this failure will come in the form of your life. Take your life, Uranus. With the blade that your fellow Soldiers -" their mortal enemy let out a snort of insane laughter. "-intended for you to use to kill me."

"URANUS, _DON'T!" _screamed Neptune, her musical voice cracked with utmost horror, and she staggered to her feet, her shaking arms raised above her head, blanched face etched with desperation as she screamed, "NEPTUNE DEEP-"

But the Soldier of the Ocean cut herself off with a piercing scream of terror as a large amount of the flames that were encircling Uranus and the Doom Entity burst away from the column and divided itself into nine, twisting and writhing until they had formed flaming cages around each of the Sailor Soldiers, acting as yet another slap in the face to Venus, a mocking taunt, an unnecessary reminder of just how impossible victory was-

Uranus reached one gloved hand up to take her Space Sword from the Doom Entity, still kneeling before her, as silent as the dead, and, in a strange, disembodied sort of way, the Soldier of Love saw that there was a poisonous yellow gleam in her friend's eyes once more, a look of awfully cold fury upon her face as she raised her talisman, its point lined up perfectly with her heart-

Every sound had been extinguished, having been sucked into the horrific bubble of isolation that was Sailor Uranus, poised to claim her own life. Time had frozen, absolute horror was etched upon each of the Sailor Soldiers' faces as they stared, transfixed with revulsion, at the scene before them. The silence was so vast that it was pressing painfully in on Venus' eardrums, as if the eyes of the entire universe were on the scene before them-

Venus could see the muscles in Uranus' arms tighten as she tensed to plunge the blade into her heart, and with a cry of fury that was not her own, she drew back the blade and plunged it forwards, its point glinting lethally as it rocketed towards her heart-

"NO!" Venus screamed, an explosion of the horror that had been building steadily up inside her for what felt like centuries, and then, with a speed that only Uranus could achieve, the Soldier of Sky let out a bull-like roar and lunged forwards, her Space Sword reduced to a streak of silver and topaz that she plunged into the Doom Entity's chest, which had been swelled with excitement at the chaos he had created, his blood red eyes widening in absolute horror as he realized what had happened-

"You are mine," snarled Sailor Uranus, her eyes dark blue once more. The Doom Entity let out a choked sort of gasp, his whole form shaking violently as he looked down at the golden hilt of Uranus' Space Sword, the only part of it that was protruding from his chest, and then, after a beat of absolute silence, the air was rent apart by an explosion so vast Venus actually felt her arms straining to be free of their sockets. Her screams, along with those of the other Sailor Soldiers, were lost as the world was obscured by a mass of blinding white and the cataclysmic howl of impossible, maelstrom-class winds. Shielding her face in the crook of her arm, Venus heard an agonized, ear-splitting scream mingling in that of the winds, a scream that could only belong to a being who had just suffered a mortal wound, and saw countless streaks of violently purplish-black light rocketing in every direction from what seemed to be the center of the light-obscured world, looking like shards of smoke, streaking outwards as fast as possible-

The shards of the Doom Entity's life force, vanishing into nothingness.

Venus couldn't hear, couldn't see, she couldn't even think. Uranus, Serena, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Pluto, Neptune, Saturn and Rini were nowhere to be seen, there was no end to the blinding mass of light that had taken over the Doom Entity's throne room, no escape-

It was a split second stretched into a senseless eternity, but then, with alarming abruptness, both the blinding light and the devastating amount of noise vanished, replaced by a scene that was the complete opposite of the horror she had just been teleported away from.

She was lying splayed on something that had the texture of immensely hard sand, something that was a bright silvery white, emitting a strong silver glow that illuminated the beautiful marble buildings that were lined up neatly on either side of her. Slowly, tremulously, Venus lowered her arm from her face, the only sound the deafening pounding of her heart in her ears as she stared about herself in bewilderment. There was a vast rectangular pool of water before her, so calm it looked like a massive sheet of glass, leading up to the glistening marble steps of a magnificent white palace in the near distance. The pool of light was reflecting a golden orangish-pink sky that hung above them, the thousands of stars that normally hung in it nowhere in sight.

_A sunset on the Moon, _Venus thought, feeling incredibly numb. _How is that possible? _Then, a fraction of a second later, _Where are the others?_

Her breath catching in her throat, Venus stared wildly about herself, unable to understand why she the emotions that were coursing through her. They were all strewn before her, still frozen in the positions they had been in when Uranus had stabbed the Doom Entity. But instead of gazing, apparently thunderstruck, at Sailor Uranus, who's Space Sword was still in hand, an unreadable expression upon her face, the Sailor Soldiers were staring past Venus, the fear that had been etched upon their faces, making them look a hundred years old, now replaced by complete awe, so that every one of them looked to be no older than four years old.

Feeling as though she were moving in slow motion, Venus turned to look over her shoulder, her dark blue eyes widening to the size of saucers as she took in the person before her. The fact that the moon was, for once, illuminated by golden sunlight made it almost impossible to see her, filtering through her transparent body like light through a stained glass window. Her hands were clasped behind her back, her custom mysterious smile playing about her lips, lilac eyes sparkling with joyous tears that were streaming silently down her beautiful face. Her lavender hair, her flowing white dress, were blowing about her in a faint breeze that Venus could not feel, adding to bizarreness of the moment.

"Well done, Scouts," whispered Queen Serenity, her soft, melodious voice choked with happiness, and with that, the ghost of the ruler of the Moon Kingdom vanished in a flash of silver light, leaving nothing but the echo of her final words of praise behind her.

**Moon Kingdom**

Absolute silence reigned in the Moon Kingdom, the same aura of horrified incomprehension lingering about it as when the Sailors had teleported out of it after the Tournament. Every sentient creature was in mourning, locked in their respective homes as they attempted to come to terms with the horrific realty that was Serenity's death.

If possible, the atmosphere inside the Moon Palace was even more subdued. No one had made it passed the entrance hall but Uranus, who had not been seen for hours. The Sailor Soldiers were frozen in various displays of shock, not speaking, not moving as they wallowed in varying degrees of horror, none of them having the faintest idea as to how they were supposed to go on. It felt as though they had not won the battle against the Doom Entity at all.

Every now and then, one of them would break down into agonized sobs, but each Soldier was so absorbed in their own misery that they made no move to comfort the one who had succumbed to their emotions. They simply existed, as they had when Uranus and Venus had first disappeared.

_I can't stand this, _Neptune thought, suddenly unable to take the silence that was lingering about them like some sort of cureless disease, the first coherent thought that had formed in her mind since they had been forcibly expelled from the Doom Entity's dimension. _I can't bear this sorrow. Not anymore. There's nothing to be done about Serenity's death, not now, anyway._

Without really knowing where she was going, Neptune walked, zombie-like, across the throne room, her footsteps echoing throughout the silent marble space, shattering the silence apart, but no one made a move to stop her, to ask where she was going...

_How is it possible, _the Soldier of the Ocean asked herself, her eyes glazing over as she ascended a winding marble staircase. _That something this horrible can be lingering about us, when we have just achieved such a great victory? How can something this awful even be _real?

_The Doom Entity is gone, _she finished glumly, wishing that she could not feel, could not think, that she could become one with the ocean whose power she wielded. _But his legacy is not._

But then, as abruptly as if someone had just screamed in her ear, Neptune jerked back into awareness, and realized, with a jolt of shock – it took her a moment to distinguish this new emotion from the sorrow that had engulfed her for so long – that she was standing on a balcony, one she had never seen before, one that looked out onto the lifeless Moon Kingdom, and, if she had not been so consumed with sorrow, she would have been stunned at the view.

"Neptune."

The Outer Scout whirled around so fast that the air hissed faintly, her gloved hand flying to her throat, but she let it fall limply to her side when she realized who it was. Uranus was sitting on the balcony's wrought marble railing, facing a blank corner of the Moon Kingdom, speaking her name not as a question or an exclamation, but as a mere statement of fact, simply to register that she was there.

"What are you doing here?" Neptune whispered, her voice slightly hoarse from lack of use, drifting forwards and touching her companion lightly on the shoulder. "How did you find this pla-"

"I've been thinking, Neptune," Uranus murmured, her voice brooding, each syllable seeming to carry the weight of the world with it. "About how the Doom Entity possessed me." The Soldier of Sky looked sharply over her shoulder, her face illuminated by the soft silver light that emanated off the moon, dark blue eyes weighed down by an ancient sadness that no being should ever have to bear. "And I've realized...that it's my fault Serenity died. If...if I had let Venus kill me, then Serenity would still be alive."

Neptune was so shocked at her companion's words that she staggered backwards as though struck, nearly tumbling over the balcony railing. As fast as the wind, Uranus was on her feet, catching her wrist in an iron grip before she could fall, staring agonizedly into the Soldier of the Ocean's eyes.

"I killed her, Neptune. I _stabbed _her. The Doom Entity made me, but if I had only fought him..." she clenched her eyes shut quite abruptly, not quite managing to stem the flow of her tears, and in a voice that shook with barely suppressed sorrow, she whispered, "Is it better to live as a monster, or to die a good person?"

They stared unblinkingly into each other's eyes for a moment, Neptune frozen with shock, appalled at both this startling revelation and Uranus' display of emotion. She had no idea what she was supposed to say to reassure her friend, or if she even _wanted _to. The Soldier of Sky seemed to take her silence as answer enough, and the agony that haunted her features increased by tenfold, and as she made to pull away, hands shaking slightly, Neptune burst into speech, the answer to Uranus' question flying out of her mouth as she witnessed her partner's despair.

"It's our choices that shape us to be who we are," the Soldier of the Ocean whispered, her eyes huge, unblinking as they bored into the back of Uranus' head. "Sailor Moon has taught me that much."

Uranus' whole form was taught, small shudders running down her form, but she did not turn, and when she spoke, her voice, though steady, was barely audible for the sorrow that choked at it. "Then I really am a monster," whispered the Soldier of Sky, her voice dead, hollow, fists shaking violently, shuddering with self-disgust.

"No," Neptune whispered, her eyes widening even further, and she took a hesitant step towards her companion, brushing her arm with the tips of her gloved fingers, to no response. "Our choices shape us to be who we are, Uranus, and what happened back in the Doom Entity's realm, no one could control."

Uranus' form relaxed very slightly, but she did not turn around. Neptune narrowed her eyes very slightly and sidestepped the leader of the Outer Scouts and whirled around so that she could look her straight in the face, only to see that she had clenched her eyes shut.

"You asked me if it's better to live as a monster or to die a good person, Uranus," whispered the Soldier of the Ocean, taking her companion's face in both her hands. "But you've never been faced with the choice. None of us would be alive right now if you had."

With that, Neptune whirled around and made to stride back inside the Moon Palace, but she stopped when she had barely moved an inch, a thought striking her like a bolt of lightning. Turning her head to the side, her eyes on the pristine marble floor, she whispered, "Congratulations on winning the tournament, Uranus. That fight with Venus really was spectacular."

And without another word, Sailor Neptune strode back into the Moon Palace, leaving Uranus to stand alone on the white marble balcony, staring unseeingly out at the Moon Kingdom, a slight smile upon her face.

* * *

Well, that's that! Hopefully you all enjoyed the ending! The negotiations are looking pretty hopeful right now, but everything's still in limbo. When any more information comes out, I'll be updating this Author's Note, so keep checking back! I'd also like to thank everyone who stuck with this story, and shout-outs go to BookLover.A.F. Phoenixfire123 iceprincess128 and CrazyPackersFan. To everyone else, your reviews are greatly appreciated and were a great part of the reason I kept updating. Thank you so much! And for anyone who cares, check out my other Sailor Moon story, called Sailor Moon: The Rise of Genesis.

Thanks so so so much!

ThePrincessOfHyrule


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